


Trying Again

by nomoretears24



Category: Hollywood (TV 2020)
Genre: Angst, Developing Relationship, Established Relationship, F/M, Fluff, Foreplay, Golden Age, Golden Age Hollywood, Hollywood, Love, References to Illness, Romance, Sex, Swearing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-06
Updated: 2020-09-06
Packaged: 2021-03-05 01:26:57
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 31
Words: 225,035
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25116118
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nomoretears24/pseuds/nomoretears24
Summary: This was inspired by Patti LuPone revealing that she had 'an aria' which ended up on the cutting room floor.This begins with Avis having her moment with Ace as he is in his coma and then Ace's subsequent recovery before he returns back to the studio.
Relationships: Ace Amberg/Avis Amberg, Ellen Kincaid/Ernie West, Jack Castello/Claire Wood
Comments: 91
Kudos: 87





	1. The Aria

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first fanfiction in 7 years so please be kind, especially with grammar and spelling XD
> 
> Hoping to continue with this story, mainly because it keeps ruminating in my head. 
> 
> I am a hard Avis/Ace shipper, so welcome more fanfic about that!
> 
> Also it so happens that the only way to structure this is that Avis' thoughts are in italics in case that isn't clear from the text.

After a long day at the studio, Avis Amberg just needs some peace and quiet. Getting into her car on the lot, she starts driving on the road to nowhere. She just wants and needs to put some space between herself and the studio. It’s been quite the week.

The burning cross in front of her house being the catalyst for it all. The worry she feels for all the people involved with the movie – for their safety, for their jobs.

 _Should she have given it the green light? Should they just have stuck with Peg? Would there even be a movie, hell would there even be a studio by the end of the month at this rate?_ She doesn’t know at this point, but _she is exhausted from thinking about it._

She needs tranquillity and she’s not quite ready for the solitude that her home offers. It has been quieter than usual with Ace in hospital and Claire in constant rehearsal. _There is something to be said for being silent by choice when others are close by and not because there is no one there willing to listen._ _She knows what she wants and realises where she can find it._ She takes the next turn, decidedly.

_She would go and see Ace at the hospital. She could rely upon him in his comatose condition to be the one person who could not converse with her on the subject of the studio or Meg right now._

_But she is also his wife, after all_ , she thought. _She has been wanting an update from the doctor on his status since she hasn’t had the chance to see him since last week. Afterall it was Mr Bigshot Lon who was getting the regular updates and making the decisions on his health on Ace’s wishes._ As she parks into the space at the hospital, she does have to admit to herself _that she also needs that silent company right now, and she has a grudging feeling that his solid silent presence may be soothing. God, she hates being weak._

She walks into the hospital foyer, nods to the receptionist politely, and storms towards the elevator hoping no one speaks to her. In her path she sees a number of nurses, visitors, and even patients clearing her pathway. _She hadn’t always been this intimidating. Money, power, and heartache had brought that. Those who only met her now would never know she was a shy kid from Long Island, New York who ran away to Los Angeles to follow her dream of becoming a movie star. She had always been so shy in her youth, too afraid to hardly ask for directions but as soon she was in front of a camera or an audience she felt like a different person. Felt like a star. She had been on a studio contract for silent movies after only a few years. Had been in good ones, too. She rarely got involved in anything outside of that. Was too afraid of risking her dream, was prepared to give up everything to be the best. Never really got involved with men, although she went steady a few times with a couple of guys. She took acting lessons, singing lessons, dancing lessons, elocution lessons, watched her figure, learned how to groom herself. She became the girl next door. God had she been so pathetically innocent then!_

_Then came the talkies. One screen test. No ethnics allowed. She looked to ‘Jewey’. Wasn’t pretty enough to be a movie star. But she had talent! She might not have been the best of the best but for fuck sake, she was more talented than half of the blonde bitches who made it into the talkies!_

_Well no wonder she was pissed off. Even Ace when she first met him had said that she could only ever be a god-damned script girl now. He knew the reality even then about Hollywood and it’s fucking hypocrisy and bigotry. She was so bitter about it all. She became a wife, a mother, a donator to a charity. Don’t get me wrong, she married Ace, luckily. Was it lucky?_ _He had made a fortune, a name for himself, and a Studio. They hadn't had a bad marriage per se but it hadn't been good. They were a good partnership she supposed. Both knew how to behave, appeared to compliment each other in public, quipped back and forth easily for the sake of company. Well even in the earlier years all they did was tease each other in private. Not just in the bedroom but annoying each other had been their thing. It was always tongue-in-cheek though. She doesn't know how they got to this point. She tried not to think about them. It didn't do well for her emotionally. Especially when she thought about how he had fucked her over. When she became head of the studio,_ _she was a woman of the age where usually you would be on your way out in Hollywood. However, he could have made his own wife the exception. Could have made whatever decision he wanted. But he didn’t. She was still bitter about that too. It could have been worse she supposed. Could have ended up with a low-life drunk abusive husband, poor, five children, living in a dump. She also could have been happy though. She had everything she ever wanted. Money, a mansion, a lifestyle, and anything money could buy. Except love. She didn’t want to think about all this just now. She had to stop thinking about this depressing shit. But no wonder she became this strong, demanding woman who didn’t take anyone’s shit anymore. She had been fucked left, right, and centre for her whole life and it couldn’t continue. She demanded respect now, because she sure as hell wasn’t given it when she was playing it nice! She wasn't born tough, she was made though. And so, Mrs Avis Amberg was born. Wife of Ace Amberg, head of Ace Studios. Millionaire, respected woman, and now first ever female head of a studio. And everyone would do well to fucking remember it._

So, she continues to strut to the elevator, swaying her hips, head in the air, shoulders back, to remind them who the fucking boss was. Daring someone to challenge her. _If she didn’t convince herself of it, live it as if it were who she truly was, no one else would think it either. She did everything in her power to banish that stupid little pathetic girl she used to be. All she got was fucked over._

As she clicks her heels down the corridor leading to Ace’s room, down by the right, she recognises a young nurse exiting his room.

“Excuse me, Miss?” she shouts to catch her attention, attempting to hurry her steps.

The young nurse looks up, immediately smiling though looking slightly frightened.

“Hello Mrs Amberg. How are you today?”

“Good Evening. I am well, thank you,” Avis responds politely though confused. _See what she means about being intimidating! This is her being nice for fucks sake._ “I was wondering if Doctor Friedman was still available. I was just looking for an update on Mr Amberg?”

“Yes, Mrs Amberg. He is with Mr Amberg now. I will let him know you are here if you would to have a seat in the waiting room,” the young nurse gestures to the adjacent room to Ace’s room.

“That would be great. Thank you.”

Avis turns to the waiting room as the young nurse walks away. _She doesn’t like this room at all._ _She finds it to be deceiving. They have put up artwork, have a designer coffee table, a comfortable looking seat to make it seem more inviting, however, there was no hiding the undercover truth present. Furniture and decor could not disguise the aura staining the walls of the relatives who had felt complete devastation, relief, worry, exhilaration, anger, and in her case hurt._ _She hated when people made her feel hurt. It just made her angry._

The main attraction of the room is the huge window, which thankfully has the curtains drawn at the moment. _She is glad not to be faced with the challenging sight of Ace’s condition quite yet._

Disturbing her thoughts, the young nurse enters still nervously grinning, “Mrs Amberg, Doctor Friedman said he is just finishing up with Mr Amberg and he should be with you in a few minutes.”

Avis forces a small awkward twitch in response, trying to seem less intimidating if possible, “Thank you”. The young nurse grins even wider if that is possible and leaves. _How can a young girl be so happy and what seemed panicked just to inform her a doctor was coming to see her?_

_Yes, this room has brought nothing but negative emotions for Avis. The room she found out her husband had had a heart attack. The room she found out her husband had a heart attack whilst having sex with another woman. That had been a blow though it was not like she didn’t know his antics for the past 10 years. The room her daughter found out the reality of her parents’ relationship. That had been embarrassing. The room where she met the torturous Mr Silver who insisted on making her life a misery. No, she was here so she didn’t have to think about anything going on. She just had to get out of this room._

As she makes a move to escape, Doctor Friedman enters smiling. _Why was everyone so happy here?_ I suppose she should be happy he doesn’t look like he was going to deliver bad news.

“Hello Avis. How are you?”

She manages a little more convincing a smile than she had performed for the young nurse, “I am well Doctor. How is Ace?”

“Not much of a difference to be honest. Still comatose, but still fighting Avis. All of his vitals are still strong. He is still being fed through the tube and is being supported in his breathing. However, there has been no sudden changes that have required intervention and with this being a relatively common result of a heart attack there is no reason to believe he will not fully recover when he awakes.”

 _Well he had said **when** he wakes and not if, that had to be something, right? _She presses, “so you think he will wake?”

He chuckles then, “his body probably just wanted a good old rest after years of running around, especially in that studio, but there is no reason to believe he won’t wake and be just fine.”

Avis’ face, however, is completely unmoving at this wisecrack. _You’re fucking right he’s been running around that studio;_ she thinks angrily. _It’s not like you weren’t doing it yourself honey_ , she reminds herself.

“That’s good to hear doctor. Can I go in and see him now?” 

“Absolutely”, he slaps his thighs in a bounce to stand up, whilst she follows, rising slowly. As they start to exit the abhorrent waiting room, he leads her to Ace’s room but stops just at the door and looks at her, “I would encourage you to speak to him when you’re in there as there has been some research to suggest that it can often trigger something that helps patients to recover and awaken earlier.”

“Thank you, Doctor. I will try my best.”

He smiles and walks back down the corridor.

Avis takes a deep breath and opens the door. _She will never get used to the sight before her._ She must have seen him like this over a dozen times now, but it always takes her around 20 seconds to adjust her senses. The tube down his throat, his paleness, his stillness, the IV, that big pumping contraption, the noises of the pump, the beeping, the clinical smell. Every single time she takes it all in and has 20 seconds of feeling completely overwhelmed. _He was still her husband and she still cared for his well being._ But then every single time she uses her resilience to put it all to the back of her mind to focus on the true reason she is here. _To see her husband. To be his wife._ She feels a weak smile invade her face and a heaviness in her stomach as she approaches his bed. She walks around his bed toward the window side so she can have better access to him.

She looks around the room. She remembers that on the first day here she had run riot within this room. She had escorted Claire in to see her father. Claire had attempted to get close to him, to hold his hand but found him inaccessible with all the contraptions everywhere. Then there was a ridiculously uncomfortable stool that wasn’t even fit for a bar never mind a hospital! She had lost her temper with a young nurse. _Actually, had it been that young nurse? Maybe that had been why she had seemed so afraid and awkward? The poor thing._

She had shouted at the young girl, declared it an absolute unorganised joke of a _private_ hospital bedroom. Screamed that the standard was unacceptable. She had demanded a better chair, that all of the contraptions be moved to one side so that her family could actually access him. They had very quickly rectified everything. Replaced the stool with a very comfortable chair. She had arranged a more lavish flower arrangement for him.

Her behaviour was understandable _she supposes._ _She had so many conflicting emotions that day. Anger at coming face-to-face with her husband’s infidelity, worry for her husband’s life, disappointment at her daughter’s priorities, panic at the thought of running a movie studio, and uncertainty about how she was supposed to become an independent provider if he died._

 _She feels calmer now. The emotions of that day gone. The anger of the previous room washed away._ She sets her purse down and strokes his hand. _Still as warm as ever._ _She feels a bit of sadness or maybe it’s worry_ , gives him another twitch of her mouth, smiling at him and raising her eyebrows as if he can see her trying to be strong for him. Her other hand carefully rises and places on his forehead, strokes his hair just the once. She lets go slowly, awkwardly removing her hands and rings them together. _She feels foolish for being so outwardly affectionate_ , as if someone was watching, though they are completely alone together. She removes her mink stole and takes a seat, crossing her legs neatly.

She quietly stares at him for a moment, the noises in the room again becoming more obvious, creating a slight anxiety. She starts to pick at her fingernails and kick her upper leg rhythmically to no tune. _Why the anxiety?_ _Are the noises a reminder of what could happen to him? Or the life she may need to face without him? Or that gut-wrenching feeling she has always had in hospitals? She needs to stop thinking. The whole reason she came here was to not think._

 _Stop it Avis,_ she thinks to herself, _you need a distraction..._

 _Talk to him Doctor Friedman said_.

She looks up at him. Opens her mouth but nothing comes out. _What is she supposed to talk to him about?_

She thinks about it for a moment. “Ehm… what can I talk to you about? Well what’s been going on? Ehm… not much.” _Well that was lie,_ she thinks. _But the whole point in her coming here was to not talk about all that. It was to escape it._

Her fingernails suddenly become interesting again. She picks at them. The noises become louder again. She visibly starts becoming irate, shifting her position. Changing her crossed legs over. Giving her other leg the opportunity for a kick. She remains silent for another few minutes.

“Ok I can’t take it”, she exclaims suddenly.

“It’s been a rough week”, she almost whispers.

 _This is ridiculous._ She squares her shoulders. Claps her hands so she can’t pick at them anymore. Straightens herself, looks directly at him and prepares for her most convincing _I am a Studio Executive_ tone yet _._

“Well I told you last time I gave the green light for Meg, not Peg. That the black girl is playing Meg now. That was a taxing decision to make in the first place.”

She softens her tone a little, looks back down at her clasped hands.

“I didn’t really know what to choose. All I could think was what you would do? I knew that you wouldn’t give it the go ahead as Meg. I know it’s not because you’re a racist... You thought ‘Song of the South’ was just as ridiculous as I did, but the implications attached to Meg. It was the same as when I got my screen test and you said I could only be a script girl. You knew the business. And it's the same with this. The boycotts, the trouble, the uproar it would cause. That’s the whole reason you have built this studio up to be the powerhouse that it is. By making these decisions, by being economical. But my god Ace, someone had to be the first to do the right thing.”

She stands now, pacing in her small space by the window, hands on her hips, talking to the ceiling.

“I know it was a risk. I know that. You have no idea how much sleep I lost over thinking about it and even after making the decision. I knew it was going to have backlash, of course I knew _that_. I knew that there would be boycotts. I knew that half of this country were still racists, but Jesus Christ I didn’t think it would get this bad. But you know this is personal, Ace. Surely you know that. They did it to me, Ace. I had more talent in my little finger than most of those other girls had. I could sing, dance, act, you name it. All because I LOOKED like a Jew. I LOOKED like a Jew when I was in silent pictures so what the FUCK was the difference with a voice? Not even because I was one. But because I looked like one. I know how it feels. To be rejected. To be told your dream, your talent isn't worth shit because of how you look. I couldn't in good consciousness do exactly what had destroyed me, Ace. You have to know that.”

She stops pacing now, sits back down in the comfortable chair crossing her legs again. Leaning on the arm of the chair, she puts her head in her hand, grips her eyes. She is rubbing circles as though to prevent a migraine that is emerging and then takes a long deep breath. She looks up at him to tell him what she had been avoiding talking about.

“At the start of the week I fell asleep reading in bed and was woken by Claire. She came into the room screaming that the house was on fire, grabbing the phone. I, of course, jumped out of bed, sprang into action and grabbed her, forcing her to follow me out of the room. I could only focus on getting both of us out of the house. We ran down the staircase. I couldn’t see any fire near the front door so I swung it open so we could escape and there… there it was. A burning cross. Right there in front of our house. I was astounded.” She pauses for a few seconds, staring at nothing.

“All I could think was ‘Oh my god, I am being targeted by the Klu Klux Klan’. I’ve never felt so much immediate dread. I’ve put my daughter in danger, myself in danger, my house in danger, the studio in danger. All because of this momentous decision I alone made. To make a difference. Then it got worse.” She sighs heavily again, uncrosses her legs, leans back in the chair, and stares at the ceiling.

“I went into the studio the next day. It hadn’t only happened to me. It had happened to Archie Coleman, the young black writer of Meg. To the director Raymond Ainsley and his black girlfriend starring as Meg, Camille Washington. All of these people in danger because I green lighted the movie. I felt so overwhelmed. So responsible. So guilty.” She had been getting edgy in the chair again. Her legs swaying from side to side, her hands gripping the arms of the chair.

“How do you do it Ace? How do you make these monumental decisions? How do you sleep at night if it goes wrong and doesn’t work out the way you hoped? How do you tame this war between what's right and what's economical? I know you haven’t done anything as severe as this but my god, how do you do it? And then Archie told me he was used to being terrorised. That poor boy.”

She stops then looks directly to Ace as though he will have a shocked expression at her revelations.

“Imagine being _used_ to be terrorised? He said his uncle had been pulled out of bed one night and hanged from a tree. Can you even imagine? And there I was with that feeling of dread over one time. Imagine that being your whole life. On one hand I was thinking - is this the fate I have sealed for Archie? For Camille? For myself? For Claire? You know what these morons are like. They are serious when it comes to this.” She continues to stare at his catatonic state, tears in her eyes.

The passion and anger in her body builds as her voice raises. “But on the other hand, I thought, is this the beginning of change? Is this what we had to do so that these poor _talented_ people can stop being used to being terrorised. To make up for all the people in Hollywood who weren't given a chance, just like me? So that they lead a normal life? It needs to start somewhere. Dick said to me that I was the perfect person to take the risk with all the money we had, we could still live more than comfortably even if we were ruined. But it seems ever since I made that decision, the whole thing has gone from bad to worse.” She pauses, thinking to herself for a moment.

“So, we offered surveillance to Archie, Raymond, and Camille. And don’t worry we are also getting surveillance at the house for Claire and I. Apparently, it’s the American Colonization Society, who are also the ones picketing…” she rolls her eyes, “…at the entrance to the studio. Secret KKK members in that society from what I am told. Henry said I will need to pay to protect the production of Meg on the lot and on location. Which of course is now more money, meaning a higher budget which we don’t have when we are losing money on that other piece of trash movie they are currently boycotting… no offence. I just don’t know if it’s all worth it.” She pauses again, exhausted. Takes a moment to get lost in her thoughts, when she suddenly jumps up and starts pacing again.

“And then there is that FUCKING MR LON FUCKING SILVER. You really know how to pick them, Ace. I have tried to fire him umpteen times and he just will not fuck off. He waltzes into the fucking office in front of EVERYONE and says...”

She begins a pompous vocal and physical impression of Mr Silver, “production on Meg needs to be halted or I will be forced to take legal action’. Well FUCK HIM. I reminded him that this was my fucking studio. And then do you know what he said? That it was _emotional_ for me and that with all that was happening I wasn’t _thinking_ clearly. Absolute bastard.” She pauses now and looks directly at Ace.

“I am so sick of making a fucking decision and when people don’t agree with it, I’m IRRATIONAL.” She is out of breath then from shouting and sits back in her seat attempting to calm. “So, I told him I would see him in court… but you should have seen everyone in the room.” She smiles slightly to herself. “They were all smiling at me. No, grinning. Even Henry Willson was. I think they were proud of me. For standing up to him. For standing up for what was right. For a moment, all of the fear disappeared.”

She sits up, almost excitedly. “I felt so empowered, Ace. Told them to get back to making the movie. In times like that it feels great, but my god it’s such an emotional rollercoaster with the guilt, the worry, the power, the validation, the pride. This has with no doubt been the biggest challenge of my life, not that I have had much in comparison.” She pauses then.

Suddenly she looks at him, with an almost irritation.

“Why the hell did you choose for me to do this, Ace? You fucking asshole! You’re the one who put me in this position.” She stands up now and walks over to his bed side, grabbing onto the bars on his bed.

“You could have chosen anyone. Dick? Ellen? Even fucking Lon, but why me?” She is swaying back and forth still holding onto the bars in frustration.

“You threw this at me and you’re not even here to support me. You’re not here for me now! You’ve been here for me for the past 22 years. Each time I had an issue, you’re the one who has given me the wisdom, the sense, the perspective on the situation I needed. Who am I supposed to go to now? Dick and Ellen are good with some advice, but you chose me for a reason. Why?” Throughout this tears had started to run down her face. Perhaps in panic? In fear? In frustration? But for what? Her anxiety over the studio? Or because he’s not here for her?

She stays silent for a moment and then grabs his hand with both of hers and kisses it. She holds it to her lips as she struggles to get what had been pent up throughout this whole struggle at the studio and him being in hospital.

“I don’t like this life without you here to support me. This hasn’t been a bed of roses but the fact that you for some reason trusted me to run your studio means something… I enjoy it most time. I enjoy the respect, the fulfilment, the fact that I matter but there are so many decisions with so much impact on other people. It’s so much pressure. I need your advice. I need you here. I need you.”

She pauses briefly, _she didn't only need him. She felt something for him. Despite everything she loves him, wants him. All she ever wanted was him. Her heartache had been that he did not want her._

“I love you. I have never stopped loving you. You need to get better. I just can’t do this without you. I can’t. I don’t want to.” She kisses his hand throughout desperately, then holds it to her head.

 _She has finally got it out._ _She had finally broken. The dam had broken. The reality of the fear coming forward. She was afraid to lose him. To ruin the studio. To let everyone down. She felt like that shy girl inside. She hadn't let her out in so long but all of these emotions were battering down that wall she had built up. She could feel it._

Her sobs fill the room, drowning out the noises of machinery. She starts to settle, and the flow of tears begins to dissipate. She kisses his hand again fiercely and then leans to kiss his forehead forcefully. The first she had done not only since his heart attack but in years. She moves one hand away from his to wipe away her lipstick mark. She smiles weakly at him, with a rush of heartache. _She has no control over his condition. It is all up to fate._

Still holding his hand and now stroking his forehead over and over, she addresses him again.

“I had better be getting home, darling. It was a long day at the studio and the tiredness is obviously getting the better of me. And I’ve got another long day tomorrow.”

She finally releases his hand and begins to wipe her eyes. She can’t go back into the public with tear stains everywhere, she has a reputation to uphold. She manoeuvres over to her purse, rifling inside for a compact. She sees her reflection in the compact, deciding that she hasn’t done too much damage. She dabs here and there, and takes a deep breath, steadying herself. Picking up her mink stole and slinging it over her arm, she turns back to Ace.

“See you soon darling”, she says as she leans down to kiss his forehead ever so lightly this time so as not to leave another smear of her lipstick. She then presses her forehead to his, closing her eyes and whispers, “I love you”.

She opens her eyes and moves backward, offering a genuine, teary smile this time. She turns around sniffing and slowly walks through the room, evolving her posture and stature from dejected to confident, holding her head up high, in such a short distance. She only looks back when she opens the door, gifting her husband one last smile. As she closes the door behind her, the clicking of her heels can be heard echoing down the hallway until they fade to complete silence.

As she tucks into her luxurious bed later that night in her silk nightgown, she hopes for a dreamless rest, and unbeknown to her in only 6 hours she would would receive an interesting phone call informing her that her husband’s eyes had spring open, awakening him from his coma.


	2. I want to see my wife!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Avis' thoughts are in italics  
> Ace's thoughts are in bold. 
> 
> Bit of a long one but it just kept flowing

The hospital foyer was tranquil. The receptionist quietly spoke to a formidable nurse, as a domestic assistant slowly mopped the floor from side to side. In walk two young nurses giggling but halt their laughter to greet the two ladies at the reception desk.

Then all of a sudden, the serenity is disturbed by two more women blasting through the foyer doors. They dash past the receptionist who lifts her arm attempting to catch their attention. However, she is greeted with an “I know! I know where I am going!” by the older of the two women, who does not slow her pace and barges between the two young nurses.

“No ma’am, it’s the floor, it’s slippery!”

Just then Avis stumbles on the wet floor, turning her ankle over slightly but just catching herself before she falls. Claire however is still running ahead towards an elevator door which was just beginning to close at the far end of the foyer.

No one could say that Avis Amberg was a stranger to making an entrance.

“Stop!”, Avis shouts, hurrying now, pointing to the elevator.

“Hold the elevator!”, screams an anxious looking Claire as she quickens her step to attempt to halt the elevator door from closing.

All of those present in the foyer all watch in shock as these two elegant, embellished women fumble across the foyer at this time in the morning, like a hurricane ripping through a house. Avis is straggling behind Claire, arms flailing, clearly not having fully recovered from her trip.

However, a hand appears from within the elevator, holding the door, halting its closure at the last minute. Claire grinned at her win as the door begins to re-open whilst Avis makes her arrival, panting behind her, attempting to catch her breath. _She detested running at the best of times, but four-inch heels and a wet floor made her more of a character from a Laurel and Hardy sketch_ , she thought as she holds onto the wall beside the elevator panting.

“Thank you so much for holding the door, I – “, Avis begins addressing the individual in the elevator, still staring at her blasted ankle.

She is interrupted by Claire’s gasp, “Oh, ehm…” 

At this Avis looks up from her heel to see the hero of the moment. _Lon fucking Silver._

Standing in the elevator alone with a briefcase, his face is unmoving. _Of course, he would be here, why did she not anticipate this?_

“Mrs Amberg” he nods towards Avis. “Miss Amberg”, he nods towards Claire. _Still unmoving._

Avis’ temper begins rising immediately as she storms into the elevator. She can’t look at him, so leans across him, pressing the floor button, and stares directly at the elevator door, biting at the inside of her mouth, trying to hold her temper. Claire stands beside her; her eyes stuck on her shoes.

Avis can’t stop herself from barking at him.

“What the hell are you doing here, Lon? It’s 6am”.

“May I remind you _again_ Mrs Amberg that I am Ace’s attorney, and he placed me in charge of his healthcare, not you”, Lon responds annoyingly calm.

“Correct Lon, in the event of his _incapacitation_ ”, she emphasises every single syllable. “Did you not get the phone call that he is awake now, not incapacitated? Therefore, his healthcare decisions lie with himself and his _wife_ now _!”_

She can’t help the lopsided grin that appears on her face, turning slightly toward him, having hit him with the technicality he may have overlooked.

Yet, he still remains calm and unfazed, “actually Mrs Amberg, had you considered that him being awake does not mean he has the _capacity_ to make any decisions. In the event of his incapacitation, i.e. not having the cognitive ability to make any decisions, any decisions relating to his health care still lies with… myself”.

He turns and looks at her directly in the eye expressionless, and then just as the bell to the elevator rings and the doors open at Ace’s room level, he gives a small, quick, _smug_ , grin.

_He was right. She never thought of that. What if he was awake but brain dead? But it was a heart attack he had, not a brain issue? Right? But why then had he been comatose so long?_

He promptly left the elevator, leaving Avis and Claire in his wake as they continued to process the reality of his words. She feels herself growing angry as she watches him begin to pace down the corridor. _Like hell was she going to stand here like an idiot and let him find out the status of her husband before she did. _

Quickly Avis grabs Claire’s hand and pulls her out of the elevator. She advances down the hallway in his wake, pulling a fumbling Claire behind her. She catches up to Lon just as they reach the waiting room, where the young nurse she had seen last night stands with that nervous smile.

“Good mo – “, Lon began.

“GOOD MORNING!” She shouts louder, interrupting him as she pushes in front of him to come directly in front of the young nurse whilst he rolls his eyes behind her. She pulls herself up to her fullest height and attempts to ignore Lon’s presence.

“I received a phone call that my husband has awoken, and I would like to see him please”.

“Good Morning, Mrs Amberg.” The nurse says shyly. She then ventures hesitantly, “I am sorry, but I’m afraid at the moment Doctor Friedman has ordered that Mr Amberg have no visitors until he has spoken to them.”

“You’ve got to be kidding?” Avis says flatly.

“N-no Mrs Amberg. Your husband had some surgery this morning and is resting still. So, if you would like to take a seat in the waiting room, I will inform the doctor you have arrived”, the young nurse shakily gestures again to the adjacent room to Ace’s room just as she had last night.

 _Surgery?_ Avis can feel the panic rising again.

“What kind of surgery?!,” she shouts. “Is he all right?”

The young nurse closes her eyes, taken aback by Avis’ volume and force. Seeing her mother’s distress, Claire intervenes and places a hand on the crux of her mother’s arm in support.

“Please Mrs Amberg, if you would all like to take a seat in the waiting room, I will go now to inform the doctor you are all here and he will be in promptly to update you on Mr Amberg’s condition”.

Lon abruptly brushes by Avis and Claire to enter the waiting room. Taking a seat on the couch, placing his briefcase on the table and beginning to take out an array of papers. Avis stands there silent and crushed, staring at the floor as the nurse walks away into Ace’s room. Only when Avis makes a turn towards the waiting room of Hell, does Claire properly take her arm to support her. She moves towards the wooden chair under the large window into Ace’s room. Like hell was she sitting on the cosy couch with Satan himself. The curtains to Ace's room are still drawn on the window but unlike last night, she wishes they were open even a hint so she could get some kind of information.

_What if Lon was right? What if he was incapacitated? He had had surgery. For what? She was going to have to take care of him. Be his nurse. Could she be a nurse? She would ensure he had the best care in the country. Hell, in the entire world! They had the money. She would hire the best specialists. What would happen to the studio if she was caring for him? Dick would just have to take charge. Some things were more important than a fucking studio._

She sits there dejected on the chair, slumped, looking at the floor, hands clasping on her lap. _She had been so hopeful when she received the phone call saying he was awake. It was almost as if he had answered her pleas from last night._ Claire did not sit; she was standing dutifully by her mother with a hand on her shoulder. When Claire squeezed her hand on her mother’s shoulder, Avis’ mind came back into the room.

“Daddy is going to be all right”, Claire tried to reassure her.

“I know, darling, I know,” she had responded unconvincingly. _She was almost thankful on reflection that the curtains were closed, so Claire could not see her father’s condition. There was no telling what he may look like after a surgery and she had to attempt to be strong for her at least. She has been glad of their growing relationship in the past few weeks. She hadn’t been a perfect mother, but she was at least attempting to improve._

After an agonising ten minutes of ruminating all the same intrusive thoughts, Doctor Friedman entered. “Good morning Avis, Claire, Lon”. He looks and nods to each of them in turn. Lon moves his mouth to speak, but Avis was too quick for him and beats him to it,

“Doctor Friedman, please tell me what is going on with my husband”.

Doctor Friedman takes a deep breath. “Well, Ace woke at around 3am and started to become restless. We have no idea what catalysed his awakening but sometimes these things just happen,” he explains giving a shrug. “He became somewhat distressed as patients usually do when they awaken to an empty unfamiliar room with a tube down their throat and no knowledge of how they got there. He was trying to speak to us; however, it was indistinguishable as the tube was still present and the lack of use of the vocal cords for such a long amount of time can often make the voice relatively hoarse.”

“The tube _was_ still present?” Avis interrupted.

“Yes, due to his distress of the presence of the tube, we took the distress as consent for its removal. Since he had awoken, he would no longer need it anyway, they rarely go back into comatose once awakening. So, I took the executive decision to go ahead and remove the tube. We sedated him and had the tube out swiftly. It was a very non-invasive surgery. That is why I could not immediately come in to see you as he has already awoken from the sedation.”

“He’s awake? Already? And how did the surgery go?” Avis is in shock at how all of this has happened so quickly. _She was only here nine hours ago!_

Doctor Friedman smiles, “Yes Avis, the surgery went splendidly. He is awake and his vitals are completely normal. I did some tests with him. Just the usual. Eye movement, cognitive questioning, awareness of his surroundings, memory. And it all seems to be completely normal. So being of sound mind himself, I informed him of what had happened to him and his current condition. He seems very alert, though tired. I have given him painkillers. Unfortunately, there is not much more you can do for a heart attack. The recovery comes in the lifestyle change that Ace will absolutely need to abide by so as not to trigger another attack. I am recommending he stay here and rest for the time being so we can not only continue to monitor him and ensure his stability, but also so we can kick start his recovery. At the moment he can only drink fluids as part of the transition back to oral eating. We want to monitor things like his voice, and gradually get him back to walking.”

Avis gives a huge sigh of relief that she was unaware she was holding in, and puts her head in her hand, overwhelmed by the flood of all emotions she was feeling, attempting to hide the tears that are prickling within them. Claire gives a huge grin, still gripping her mother’s shoulder, which her mother reaches for and was now gripping back. Lon is still completely emotionless in his expression, simply listening to the doctor’s information as if it is facts he has to memorise for a future examination.

“So, he’s going to be all right?” Avis asks for confirmation again. 

“I can’t provide absolute confirmation this early, but it seems so.” The doctor chuckles, “of course, Ace being Ace is already asking when he can go home, so it may help to stress to him that he needs to rest, and this is going to be a long journey to ensure his future health.”

 _He already wants to come home._ Avis felt complete relief. _He is going to be alright._

From the corner of the room, Lon stands and speaks for the first time. “I would like to be permitted to go in and speak to Mr Amberg now, as we have much to discuss.”

Avis’ head springs up immediately in pure anger, venomously, forcefully shouting, “FUCK OFF, LON!”

She stands up now, staring at him. “If you think YOU are going to be the one who goes in to see him before his own WIFE and DAUGHTER, you are highly mistaken!” She had never felt such anger. _Who the fuck did he think he was?!_

Lon sighs and condescendingly addresses her, “Mrs Amberg, I don’t want to have to remind you again, but I am his attorney and he placed me in charg– “.

“Actually- ”, Doctor Friedman loudly interrupts, as everyone looks towards him in astonishment, “-Ace has specifically been asking solely for Mrs Amberg repeatedly since he has woken.” He nods towards Avis and now addresses Lon directly, “so, I think it would be most prudent to abide by Mr Amberg’s current wishes and allow him to see his wife?”

 _What? He has been asking for her. Only her._ She is astounded.

Lon on the other hand is completely embarrassed. “Yes, I suppose that would be satisfactory”, he says as he sits back down and picks up some papers which she guesses is a ploy to appear too busy to care about this rejection.

The doctor addresses her, holding up his arm, gesturing to the door.

“Avis, would you like to come with me to see your husband now?”

Avis stands slowly, letting go of Claire’s hand to follow the doctor out of the door. As she reaches the door, she turns around feeling Claire in her wake, hoping she is out of earshot of Lon.

“I think I should go in there alone at first, darling. If he has been asking for me, there may be something he wants to share with me in private.”

Claire looks dejected, but Avis quickly seeing this holds her hand and places the other on Claire’s cheek.

“I know you are worried, but you just heard the doctor, there is nothing to worry about. I promise I will come and get you in a few minutes. I promise,” she looks her in the eyes, smiling encouragingly and nodding.

Claire holds eye contact with tears in her eyes and nods. _She never really considered how child-like Claire could be for a young woman. In moments like these when she comes across as so vulnerable, she could be that little girl with ribbons in her hair, tugging onto the bottom of her dress again_. Avis leans over to the cheek she was not holding and gives a light kiss. She watches as Claire turns back to take a seat in the waiting room of what feels like Heaven rather than Hell now.

Avis turns back toward Ace’s room, forgetting that the Doctor has been waiting to escort her the whole time. She approaches the door slowly, and to be honest nervously. _What was she going to say to him? She had so many revelations last night, but she had no idea what he was thinking or why he even wanted to see her._

The doctor interrupts her ruminating once again, “Well Avis you’re good to go in and see him. Just remember to remind Ace that he’s going to have to rest for the foreseeable future, and he’s looking at a complete change of lifestyle. Try to avoid any conversation which may be stressful to him. I would recommend not having any studio or financial conversation at all for the moment to be honest. I think that would be deemed as too stressful. He knows for now that he is not to return to work. I am going to go and speak to Lon right now and inform him that for Ace’s health and stress levels at the moment he will no longer be necessary to make any health decisions on Ace’s behalf now that he is coherent, and that he is not be permitted to speak to him about work or any other stressors until Ace returns to work. I’m sure he will be fine to speak about all that soon, but right now I want to keep Ace as calm and stress free as possible so that he makes a _full_ recovery. So, if you want to inform him that he can speak to Lon soon about the studio but not at the moment, then that would be helpful. Also, at the moment he can only have sips of water if he would like it.” Avis does not speak but continues to stare down the hall and nods continuously at each piece of information the doctor gives trying to process and store it.

“Also, I wanted to be more delicate with this information and privately tell you without Claire or Lon present.” _Well now he has piqued her interest,_ as she looks directly into Doctor Friedman’s eyes.

“Often patients who have had a severe trauma including heart attacks, being comatose for a prolonged period of time can change in personality.” Her eyebrows rise in panic.

“No, no, it’s nothing to worry about. It’s not a bad thing. Often you may just see a change in mood temporarily in the aftermath. Sometimes they can suffer from melancholy due to the realisation of the limitations that will be set on their lives such as diet and exercise. Potential changes to their body can sometimes happen such as temporary impotence, inability to drive for a while, inability to work, often leading to boredom and depression. Sometimes on a larger level though the facing of one’s mortality can have either a panicking effect or an opposite revitalising effect. They can start changing their pattern of thinking, wanting to make amends, doing the things they always wanted to do, having a brighter outlook on life.”

Again, Avis does not speak but nods continuously.

“There is often changes in behaviour but there are no telling what changes there will be. But it’s something to think about.”

They both go silent and she continues to stare. He places a hand on her shoulder and tries to be reassuring, “if you need anything I will just be across the hall”. He gives her a pat on the shoulder and leaves her facing the door.

_Well that is a lot to think about. No studio talk. No stress. Change of Lifestyle. Long recovery. Lon is indisposed until for the foreseeable. Can only give him sips of water. He might be depressed. He might be impotent? Not that that’s going to affect her. But he might have a happier outlook on life. So, she just has to roll with the punches?_

She stares at the door. _Let’s go, Avis. He wants to see you. Head up. Shoulders back, my girl._

She opens the door and hears what she assumes is him. It is a hoarse and broken voice. He is trying to speak, but all the syllables are not coming out.

“I – wa-t – to – see – my – wi-fe”.

She sees him now. He is still lying on the bed but thank god that tube is gone. He still looks pale and exhausted but seeing him awake is a welcome relief. Just seeing his facial muscles move is surprisingly refreshing. She sees the young nurse standing next to his bed with her back to the door, attempting to write down information she was clearly getting from the machinery.

“Mr Amberg, your wife is talking with the doctor. She will be in shortly.”

She doesn’t need to see the nurses face to tell she is distressed. _Well, apparently it is not just me she is suffering under, she is being terrorised by our whole family._

She sees him close his eyes in frustration and give a chesty cough.

He is now trying to raise his voice, “I-want-to-see-my-wife”. _Well that was pretty clear this time. Why is he so insistent on seeing me?_

She hears the nurse sigh deeply, “Mr Amberg, please – “.

 _She had better step in and save the poor girl._

“Ace, it’s all right. I’m here”.

The young nurse quickly whipped around, and to Avis’ surprise, she closed her eyes and sighed in relief. _Who knew she would be the cause of this young nurse’s relief?_

Ace himself quickly snaps his head to the side toward Avis. _She is surprised to see complete relief on his face also._ The nurse quickly rights herself and moves toward Avis muttering something about having something to do in the other room. Avis smiles shyly at him, then looking down at the floor still maintaining the smile, silently walks towards the window side of the bed. Ace never takes his eyes off her as she slowly walks the perimeter of the bed, and she knows it. 

***

**From the moment he had woken, he had been so panicked. He woke alone in a hospital with just Avis on his mind. Her voice specifically. Then he could feel discomfort in the back of his throat. He couldn’t swallow. Why couldn’t he swallow? He opened his eyes to a dark room with a small lamp light. As his eyes adjusted to the light, he seen a huge tube in front of him leading to his mouth, was that what he could feel in his throat. He looked to his right and seen a huge pump. Was he on a breathing machine? What the fuck had happened? He looked around more. He was alone. Where was Avis? He had thought he had heard her.**

**Maybe this was a dream. Avis would angrily elbow him in the ribs any moment now for snoring too loudly and he would awaken. No, this was going on for too long, it was too real. He panicked further, could feel his breathing becoming more laboured, his temperature rising, his heartbeat and pulse racing. He could hear the beeping of the machine becoming more frequent.**

**It was then that a young nurse came running into the room, started flicking switches. What the fuck was she doing? He tried to talk, but nothing came out. He tried again and it was just moaning. He could not communicate. His lips could not move to get the words out. He wanted Avis. He trusted Avis. She would tell him what the fuck had happened. If you could rely on anyone to be straight with you, it was his Avis. She was a feisty New Yorker after all. One of the things that first attracted him to her.**

**He seen the doctor come in. It was Saul! Finally, a face he recognised. Saul had been his cardiology doctor for years! He tried to speak again, but again only moaning escaped. He tried to reach for the tube in this mouth. Grasping it so he could actually speak to someone. He could hear Saul say something about sedation. He could feel the young nurse doing something to his immobile arm and suddenly he was back to sleep.**

**When he woke, the blasted tube was gone. Thank god. He drifted in and out of sleep, due to the sedation he imagined. When he felt more coherent, Saul came in and completed a series of aggravating tests for morons, which were infuriating as he tried to get used to speaking. Saul had then explained what had happened. A heart attack. Whilst he was having sex with Jeanne. And Avis knew. Great. He would never hear the end of this. Like she could talk, frequenting that vile gas station to see that guy.**

**Saul told him it would be a complete change of lifestyle, change of diet, more exercise, no sex, no alcohol, no stress, no work, no driving, and solely bed rest for the foreseeable. He was told that with the best rest now, he would be able to go on to living a healthy and full life with everything that was prohibited reintroduced in moderation. He wanted to go home, and he made that clear to Saul. What was the point in living if you gave all that up? But the doctor did just say it was for the time being.**

**He had almost died. He had been comatose and may never have woken up. Had he done everything he wanted to do? Would he have left this world feeling fulfilled? Had he been a good man? Yes, he had a successful studio, a wife, a daughter, a mistress, power, property, possessions. Was that everything? Had he been kind, loyal, trustworthy, understanding? Had he pushed the boat out? Made a difference? Made an impact? Taken risks? He didn’t know.**

**He wanted to see Avis. He had seen many a friend, enemy, family member, employee, mentor come and go in his life, but Avis had been the longest standing. She had been by his side longer than anyone. Yes, it had not always been good nor perfect, but they had an understanding to support one another. Hadn’t they? She was his biggest constant and right now he needed her presence to bring some stability to him. He needed to feel normal and her being here would bring that. Without a doubt he was anxious to see her if she knew about how he had his heart attack. But he was never one to prolong awkward conversations. Always found it better to get them over with.**

**He knew she was on her way; Saul had told him that much. But where the hell was she then? He tried and tried to get his words out, though brashly, when the nurse came in to check his vitals again, until they were coherent enough to understand. The nurse told him that Avis was here, next door, talking to Saul. So, what the hell was taking them so long. He was getting impatient. Started getting irate with the young nurse. And then he heard her voice. Well who knew that seeing Avis would give him instant relief. Just her voice alone was a respite. If he had told himself prior to all this that simply seeing or hearing his wife would calm him, he would declare himself nuts! But here she was, looking regal as always. He never knew anyone who wore wealth better than Avis Amberg.**

To his surprise she walks directly to his bedside, meeting his eyes again, taking his hand in hers. _Warm_. _Still warm._ She feels his hand respond and grips back as she provides the most honest smile in that day for him and he returns with that little grin she missed so much.

**She took his hand; she can’t be that mad.**

_He gripped her hand back, so he does want her here._

“How- How are you, darling?”, she asks nervously the only thing she can think of.

**Was she nervous?**

His voice still hoarse he tries to force out, “never- been better-. I was- thinking- of signing up- for the Olympics-,” attempting a joke through his hoarse voice with a small snigger.

 _He has always been such an idiot_. She laughs and shakes her head.

“You never change,” she retorts.

“I’m- all right-. Doctor seems- confident- I’ll be fine- with some bedrest…” He nods nonchalantly, attempting to catch his breath.

“How are- you, Avis-?”

_How she had missed his voice, his Bronx lilt._

“I am just fine, darling.”

_She lied. But no stress. No studio talk. She was here for him._

**Two Darlings? Well this was going a lot better than he thought it would.**

She lets go of his hand and sits on the chair. He never takes his eyes off her movements. She faces him as she sits, crosses her legs. She feels uncomfortable. Doesn’t know what to talk about. Clasps her hands and bows her head to look at them, kicks her upper leg again, trying to think of what to say.

**She is nervous. That leg bouncing is always the giveaway.**

_What should she talk to him about? Last night’s conversation was very heavy. She had basically begged him to live and stay with her. Said she had needed him and loved him. What do you say now after admitting that aloud? She can’t repeat it now. She has no idea where his head is at. She has no idea where her own head is at now he's awake. He has been having a ten-year affair with Jeanne, he doesn’t want her. She doesn’t know what he wants. She wasn’t ready to say it to his conscious body. She wasn’t ready to be that vulnerable. Dammit, this isn’t about her, it’s about him. About supporting him in his recovery. Focus._ She tries to go through the doctors list. _No studio talk. No stress. Change of Lifestyle. Long recovery… there we go._

“I’m glad you’re on board with the bedrest. Doctor Friedman said he had spoken to you about some of the changes that we need to put into place. He said he wants you to stay in here to relax for the time being so they can monitor you and start some rehabilitation. He said that if you’re still showing good signs in a few days we should be able to get you home.”

She forces a smile, nodding, attempting to radiate some positivity about the situation. 

“Yeah-, bed rest- in here- and monitoring-. Then a- ‘lifestyle change’- when I leave-,” he says unenthusiastically, rolling his eyes and shrugging.

Avis can feel herself being instantly tested as her temper rises as her tone become more severe.

“Don’t do that, Ace.” That’s an order, not a request. “It’s serious. You almost died.”

“I know that-, Avis- “, for the first time since she entered the room his eyes leave her and look at his bed sheets.

Her tone remains rigid.

“Well you’re going to have to take this seriously. The doctor has recommended that we don’t talk about the studio or work at all so that you have minimal stress. Stress reduction is most important when you have suffered a heart attack. He wanted me to tell you that he’s going to speak to Lon and ask him not to come and talk to you also about work or finance or anything like that until he thinks you're fit enough to return to work. So, considering you can now make your own decisions about your health, Lon won’t be visiting the hospital anymore.”

She finishes with a weaker tone. _Well that grabbed his attention_ , she realises as his head springs to look directly at her with fury in his eyes.

**So now the doctor is suddenly controlling whether he can even TALK about his studio? HIS studio? Not only is he not allowed to go to work but he can’t even talk about it.**

“So, you’re telling me- that I am in charge of my own health decisions-, but I actually have no say in them- because it’s Saul’s way or the highway?” His voice had been improving with the practiced talking. That is until now when he began to shout, “the last I checked, Saul was my doctor, not my mother!”, his voice coming out even more ragged and hoarse than before. It triggers a coughing fit from him. **His voice was definitely not ready for shouting.**

She felt instantly defensive. _She didn’t like anyone shouting at her, especially not Ace._ _It made her angry and nervous._ Despite this she jumps up and grabs the glass of water sitting on the table. She moves towards his bedside, placing her hand on his back to help him sit up straight, rubbing soothing circles, encouraging him to take a drink of the water from the glass in her other hand when he had a break between coughing. His coughing begins to dissipate, and she helps him lie back down. She stays silent throughout, not trusting herself to not lose her temper. As she replaces the water back onto the table and moves back towards her seat she repeats in her head, _no stress, no stress, no stress, Avis. Come on._

**Jesus, rubbing my back and giving me water now? I would have bet before she entered that that water would have been flung in my face. There must be something I am missing.**

She sighs heavily. “Well Ace, the doctor wants the best for you, as do I. The only solutions to prevent this from happening again is minimal stress and a healthier lifestyle. So if I’m sorry Ace, but if I need to sit by your side every minute of every day like your mother to ensure no one discusses that fucking studio with you, and to ensure you eat properly because I can’t trust you to be a fucking adult and do it yourself, then that’s what I’m going to god damn do,” she threatens. _Well it wasn’t so bad. She only lost her temper a little bit towards the end, right?_

Ace remained silent, still looking at his bedsheets, taking in what she was saying. **He is fighting a losing battle. He knew he was going to have to agree to all this. He didn’t want to die, and if this was the way to go back to living again then that’s what was going to have to happen**. Just as he opens his mouth to agree with her. She speaks.

“I am your wife, Ace. I want you to live a long, happy life. I want you to be here for as long as you possibly can be with me. Your daughter wants you to be here for as long as you possibly can be.” _Shit. Claire. How long had it been? Surely, not that long_. “She has been so worried about you, Ace. So afraid you were going to die.”

She pauses again. “Everyone at the studio has missed you also, especially Lon.” She rolls her eyes. “He doesn’t like me at all. They don’t want you going anywhere either.”

**God, did he feel guilty now.**

_“_ So, please. Think it over. Don’t do anything rash _._ You have so many people who want you here. Especially me. _”_

She looks down again. _She feels so embarrassed at being so frank about her feelings with him. She learned long ago to protect herself from things like this. You didn’t make yourself vulnerable to people by showing true love and affection. It’s how they take advantage of you, how they play you, how you get hurt. But she couldn’t help the emotion. This was too serious to not give a little. But was this working? Was she getting through to him?_

They sit in silence as he processes what she has said.

**Especially me, she said. Tonight, was full of surprises. I thought I was inviting an angry wife ready to ask for a divorce and I get one pleading for me to eat some celery.**

“All right, Avis-. I will play ball- ,“ he nods to himself still not looking at her.

She smiles then, “Good”.

She jumps up then, walking towards the end of his bed, but stops at the bottom, grasping the bed for confidence.

“Listen, Claire is in the waiting room and she’s desperate to come in and see you, so I want to go and get her if that’s alright with you. But I wanted to ask you something first.”

She ends looking at her hands on the bed frame. _Should I even ask him?_

“Shoot-,“ he gruffs.

She couldn’t bring herself to look up at him, “Doctor Friedman said you had been continuously asking for me since you woke. I thought maybe you wanted to tell me something. Why did you only ask for me?”

He averts his eyes from the bedsheet, looks up at her, seeing her fiddling with the bedpost. **She is so obvious when she was feeling vulnerable. I don’t even think she knows how obvious she is.**

“It’s simple-. I wanted- to see you-,“ he says so plainly, trying to sound as clear as possible.

Her head shot up at that, her expression visibly shocked. She stares directly into his eyes now. **Wow, is this the reality of our relationship? Have I treated her that badly, that she’s shocked that I would want to see her?**

“I woke thinking- of you-. As though- your voice was- in my dream-. You’re- my wife-. My other half-. The only- constant- I have- ever had-. Of course- I wanted- to see you first- “, he finishes not feeling embarrassed at all. It was too true to regret.

_Well if he hadn’t have said it so slowly due to his inability to speak, she wouldn’t have believed it ever happened. She was aware that she just remained in silence as he stares at her with a small smile._

On the realisation of what he has said, she, staring into his eyes gives the biggest grin he had seen in years, a tear appearing and shining in her eye. **She was beautiful when she grins like that. He hadn't seen it in so long. I need to be sure to do that more often, it’s more stunning than any priceless art.**

She shakes her head lightly, realising her grin was so obvious, looking down to steady herself, feeling silly for being so transparent.

“I will go get Claire”, she declares. He simply nods as she walks confidently to the door and down the corridor stopping just short of the waiting room.

 _What had just happened? What had he said? My other half. The only constant he has ever had._ _Why did that make her so completely elated? It made her stomach dance. For god’s sake she was grinning like an idiot again. Pull yourself together, Avis. You’re a woman of… a certain age, not a schoolgirl._

She gathers herself and turns the corner to the waiting room of Heaven and sees only Claire sitting there nervous. Biting at her fingernails, shaking her legs nervously. _God, her daughter is more like her than she ever cared to admit._

“Where is Satan?” she asked her daughter, curling her lip.

Claire is shocked out of her thoughts and flies her head towards Avis.

“I don’t know. The doctor came to speak to him and took him out into the corridor and then all of a sudden, he came storming in and gathered his things and stormed out.”

_HA_

“HA!” She belted out.

She couldn’t help it. Victory. Sweet victory. She walks to her daughter and touches her cheek again. She then grabs her hand and pulls her up abruptly out her seat and towards the door.

“Come on, darling. Let’s go see Daddy.”


	3. Teasing

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Avis' thoughts are in italics.  
> Ace's thoughts are in bold.

Three days later, she is at the hospital bright and early to see Ace. She had been feeling more positive over the past few days. She had come up each day to see him before heading to a long day at the studio. She had found visiting him quite cathartic. Simply coming up to sit with him for a half an hour to ensure he was still all right, still well, still breathing, made it easier to get through the day. His vitals had been consistently strong, though she could sense he had been getting more riled with boredom. Every day he had mentioned coming home.

_She wasn’t sure whether he should come home or not. Him in a hospital under surveillance of doctors and nurses 24/7 must be the best thing for him. He was in the safest place. What if he were to come home and something should happen? She could be at the studio and be unable to get to him. Even if she were there, what help could she give? If he were in the hospital, he could have immediate care, especially in situations like this when time can be of essence._

However, from the moment he had woken he had wanted to come home. She could understand that. _He had wanted to be around what was comfortable and familiar, in his own setting. He had seemed so cast down and bored yesterday especially and Doctor Friedman had warned of a potential melancholy that could develop from his condition. She wanted to prevent that if she could. She would speak to the doctor today. See what he thought about it. He was the professional. He would know whether he was likely to have another attack._

She knocks on the door of Ace’s room and opens the door gently. When she peaks her head in, both Doctor Friedman and Ace look heated but are both turning their attention towards her.

“Sorry, am I disturbing something?,” she says with a raised eyebrow.

“No, come on in Avis,” says an irked Ace.

 _Oop. He was irritated._ She walks into the room hesitantly.

“Is everything all right?”

“Absolutely Avis. Ace is just getting a little frustrated,” Doctor Friedman divulges.

_Well she had eyes on her head. She could see THAT. Wrong move though, Saul, wrong move._

**Who the fuck did this guy think he was? He’s lucky I’m stuck in this bed or he would have a fat nose.**

As predicted, Ace does not respond well to that, raising his voice.

“Don’t get condescending with me, Saul! I’m not a child!”

“Okey, okey”, Avis walks quicker to her seat, placing down her purse on it, alongside a bundle of newspapers.

Turning back towards Ace, she starts, “what’s going on?”

“Ace wants to go home, and I told him I would have a look at his readings and get back to him.” Doctor Friedman explains calmly. Ace huffed. _So, he didn’t get an immediate yes and became huffy. Typical._

Avis starts unpinning her hat from her hair, attempting to soothe Ace.

“Well Ace, that’s something at least! It’s not a no!” Ace looks directly at her, expressionless.

**Really?**

_Well that didn’t work._

She now directs her questions at the doctor, “I was actually hoping to speak to you, if you have a moment?”. She smiles hopefully.

“Yes, that’s fine Avis. If you want to follow me outside,” he gestures to the door. She smiles and turns to collect the array of newspapers she had brought for Ace – Los Angeles Times, Washington Post, Chicago Tribune, New York Post, New York Times, and English Daily Herald. _At least he would have plenty to keep him occupied today_. She turns back to the bed and places the newspapers on the table in front of Ace. Ace looks towards the newspapers. **Geez, she has really gone all out. Good girl.**

“All right, so I brought all the ones I know you like, and don’t get excited about finding something about the studio in there. I already looked through them and there is nothing about the studio. I also brought you a few more things but I will be back in a minute.” She didn’t give Ace the chance to respond, as she quickly manoeuvred away from him and towards the door whilst she was telling him all this before he could question her motives for speaking to the doctor.

**What the hell is that all about? What does she want to talk to Saul about?**

He looks down at the newspapers, huffing. **Oh, she even brought the English Herald!**

She enters the corridor where Doctor Friedman is already waiting for her, closing the door gently behind her.

“Thank you for speaking with me doctor. He seems agitated.” She's grimacing at him awkwardly.

“Yes, he is. It’s to be expected. But what can I do for you?,” he responds directly.

“Well his agitation is what I wanted to speak to you about. Obviously, I'm worried about his condition and I want him to be in the best place possible, but he seems to have been utterly miserable for the last few days. I know you said you’re already going to have a look at his chart and we will go with whatever your judgement is but if there is a possibility that we could get him home, I will ensure that the best of the best is set up there. I will pay for whatever machinery, nurse, regime that needs to be in place. I just think he would be less stressed at home. He seems to be getting increasingly angry by the day, and you did say that the most important thing is that he remains calm.” She looks at the doctor hopefully.

He sighs, holding both hands to halt her continuing. “It’s all right, Avis. It’s likely that he is going to be able to get home tomorrow. His vitals have been steady for the last few days and I see no issue with sending him home as long as the correct diet and instructions are followed, but I haven’t told him yet because there are a couple of things I wanted to double check. I wanted to be certain and make a few more calls before I got his hopes up. But you are correct, he is getting increasingly stressed, so I am going to go and make those phone calls right now so that I can tell you both one way or another, sooner rather than later.”

 _She feels so relieved._ “Oh good. Thank you, doctor. Of course, I don’t want him to be in danger, but he seems so distressed. And of course, we will put into place whatever you order. Absolutely. By the book.” She strongly confirms.

“I’m glad to hear that. Please don’t say anything to him yet, Avis. I will come and let you both know momentarily. If it is good news though, you are going to help me stress to him that his authorisation to leave the hospital is dependent on him following every rule strictly.” He looks at her expectantly.

She reacts without hesitation, “oh, absolutely doctor! Be assured, I won’t let him forget it.” She smiles again. “I will go back in now and let you get on with it.”

She enters back into the room, seeing Ace again looking at her instantly when the door opens. _God, he seems so excited whenever that door opens. Is he that starved for company?_

She closes the door and smiles at him.

“So! How are you feeling today?,” she asks as she walks towards her seat.

**What the hell is going on? Why would she need to speak to the doctor about his condition without him there? He’s not a child!**

He follows her sceptically, “fine, what was that about?”

 _Shit. She hadn’t thought of an excuse._ She takes her time moving her purse over to bedside table, removing each of the items she brought for him. She then moves carefully back to sit in her seat, placing her purse by the chair, crossing her legs.

**Yeah, take your time Avis. God knows I have plenty of that sitting in this bed all day.**

“What? With the doctor?” She acts surprised, then scoffs and swipes the air. “I just wanted to ask him if there was anything I could do to prepare the house for when you eventually get to come home.” _Not bad. But could have done with not bringing up him getting home again._ She quickly changes the subject before she gets any follow up questions.

“Anyway, I brought you some things from the house.” She stands now, making her way to the nightstand so that she can show him each item in turn.

“Your comb, in the off chance you wanted to start making yourself look pretty for Doctor Friedman. Maybe you could bat your eyelids for him to get him to agree to let you come home?”, she grinned. _Jesus, did she loves to tease him_.

**It had been a while since he seen this Avis. She was always looked so sexy when she gave that flirtatious grin.**

He looked directly at her with a stupid grin on his face. She merely raised an eyebrow, challenging him to quip back.

“I would, but I think I’m a bit too feminine for him,” he banters back, pretending to flip his non-existent hair back.

“And I prefer a bit of facial hair. Why do you think I married you?” his eyes twinkle at her with a cheeky grin.

She laughs heartily, “Touché.”

_She loves when they were like this._

**He loves when they were like this.**

“I also brought you your watch, so you could count the minutes until you no longer have to be in my company,” she quips again but this time maintaining a straight face. _She can’t help the teasing._

“And as a more practical gift I brought your reading glasses and your good pen in the off chance one of your lovely newspapers had a nice crossword you could do.”

She smiles again. “Are the newspapers all right?”

He nods several times, pouting his lips. “All the right ones, Avis. You done good.”

She’s glad. _It was working. He was lightening up._

**Well being stuck here would be easier if she stayed and bantered with me all day.**

“So, what’s your plans for the day then? Tell me so I can escape from this room for a moment,” he looks at her expectantly.

She smiles knowingly, looking down at her nails, “well I thought I would run a studio, do some shopping, and then work on world domination if I had any time to spare”.

She looks up then through her eyelashes at him. _What was she doing? Is she addicted to the feeling this quipping back and forth is giving her? Is she flirting with him? I mean I can’t just go and change my personality overnight. I’m a flirtatious woman! Even if he probably isn’t interested, she wasn’t going to start changing now. It’s just fun and games… to lighten the mood. Right?_

**I think she’s flirting. I mean it’s been a while, but I think she is. But she always was a flirt. It probably meant nothing.**

“Well if anyone can do it, you can,” he carefully watches her reaction to his compliment.

She only reacts surprised for a moment.

“Honestly, I am going to go to the studio for a few hours, but I thought I would go shopping to pick you up some things. A couple books or something- “

Just then she is interrupted by Doctor Friedman’s entry. They both look towards the door. Avis looks expectantly, her facial expression hiding nothing. _Come on, Saul. Come through._

Ace looks to him, just as dejected as always, **he’s still not happy with Saul.**

“Well! I have good news. I have looked at your vitals, your records from the last few days, examined the potential risk of another attack and it seems there is unlikely to be another attack, so I’m willing to send you home tomorrow morning,” Doctor Friedman finished happily.

 _YES SAUL!_ She looks over to Ace immediately. His elation is undeniable. His whole face lit up.

“Really?! Oh, that’s brilliant Saul!”

He held out his hand to Saul, willing him to take it. Saul approaches apprehensively, he hadn’t finished talking. Ace takes his hand, shaking it vigorously with both of his hands. Avis still sits, grinning. She is delighted to see her husband euphoric.

“All right, Ace. You’re welcome. But I am not finished”. Ace’s face drops slightly, as he lets go of Saul’s hand.

“There are some ground rules, Ace. You need to follow strict rules if you are going to leave here.” Doctor Friedman tries to begin but is interrupted again.

Ace is too excited, “Saul, I will do anything to get out of here!”

Doctor Friedman raised his voice frustrated, “Ace. Listen to me. You need to follow a specific diet for the foreseeable. You have been on fluids for the last few days and I want you to continue that for the next five days. You can try porridge in the morning but that is as sloppy as it will get. Then we will look at introducing things a bit more substantial than that. But I will update Avis on that closer to the time.” He nods at Avis, who nods back agreeably.

“I want to reiterate what I told you when you first woke. You need to follow this diet strictly. No alcohol. No sex. No work. No getting out of bed. So, no walking around, no driving. Going to the bathroom is doable when there is someone in the vicinity, but when you are alone you should use a bedpan. You are still in a precarious stage where too much exertion can lead to another attack. So, nothing to catalyse any stress, no heavy arousal, or anxiety. You need to remain as placid as possible. If you do all of this now, you will be on your way to a quicker recovery. You will be back at the studio in no time but Ace, you’re never going to be able to go back to the lifestyle you were once accustomed to. Your diet will always need to be healthy; we will eventually be reintroducing exercise which can then include sex, your stress levels will never be able to go above moderate. You need to be careful Ace.” Doctor Friedman finishes and stands silently.

Ace remains silent also. **Well that was quite frank. He was all for giving up some things for now. But forever? Never being able to go back to his old life. It was becoming more and more real. Not that he had a choice in the matter, and he would do anything to get out of this hospital. But he felt quite stifled all of a sudden.**

Avis had not taken her eyes off Ace. He was surprisingly quiet which worried her. “That sounds just fine, doctor. We will absolutely stick to those rules and don’t worry, there will be no breaking of these rules. Everyone in the house will be under strict instruction or they will have my wrath to deal with, and no one wants that”, she gives a fake laugh to try break the tension. “That’s all doable, isn’t it Ace?” _They had discussed this the other night. He had been on board then. Maybe it was just the reality of it that was sinking in._

“Yeah, absolutely,” he absently agrees offering a weak smile. Avis and Doctor Friedman look at one another.

“Great, well I have some work to be getting back to. You should be able to go tomorrow morning. We can arrange for an ambulance to take you back to your house. Whilst you have done a little walking here, your house is pretty big and walking through it will be pretty exhausting so it’s best to have the best of care, just to get you in the door.” When it became silent again, he looks from Ace to Avis.

“Thank you, doctor. That would be most appropriate.” She smiles weakly. The doctor smiles and leaves the room promptly.

 _T_ _hat didn’t go as well as she expected._ She looks back to Ace, biting the inside of her lip. He stares at his hands clasped on the bedsheet. _They had been doing so well, why this all of a sudden?_

She looks to him, cautiously speaking, “are you ok?”

It seems he didn’t realise she was speaking to him at first. However, after a moment he shook himself out of whatever thought he was in and looks up at her surprised.

“What?” He shakes his head frowning, looking back to his bedsheets, “yeah, I’m fine”.

She nods silently. “You were so desperate to get out of here and now you look pretty dejected, if I’m honest Ace.”

**She could see right through him.**

_He never did well with limitations_

He huffs then, picking up his pen and starts removing the cap and then replacing it.

“Nah, I am glad to be going home. I’m bored shitless here. Just a lot to take in, ya know?”

She nods. _She has an idea. Let’s try again._

“I can understand why you are in shock. I don’t know how you’re going to manage it.”

He looks up at her shocked! **She was supposed to be encouraging him!**

“I mean… if he walked in here and told me that I wasn’t allowed to drink alcohol for the foreseeable future, I would tell you to grab my shit…” she extends her arm, pointing it at the door “…and get the car so we could escape from this madhouse like Bonnie and Clyde. So, I don’t envy you. But you were always a lot stronger than me”.

She sits smirking with her eyebrows raised, watching him as she places her hand back onto her lap. His lips twitch as he looks up at her. She raises her eyebrows even higher and tilts her head to the side, not breaking eye contact.

**She was a jerk. He was trying to wallow in self-pity and here she was making him smile.**

“Don’t make me laugh”, he says to her trying to hide his smile, pouting.

“Ohhh, sorrrry.” She immaturely retorted, pulling a face.

She stands up then and moves towards his bed, placing a hand on top of his clasped ones. _Just like Claire, he looks like a let-down child in moments like this._

“I know it’s a lot, Ace. I know.” She places her free hand on his shoulder, trying to be soothing. “It’s a huge change. But we will get through it… together. Think about it. You get to come home to our big, comfortable, expensive bed, with Egyptian cotton bed sheets. You get to sleep in your beautiful, silk pyjamas. You get to wake up to my beautiful face in the morning. The envy of every man.” She flutters her eyelashes now, smiling wider. He laughs.

“We can do things to alleviate the boredom. We can think of things to do. We can make a list and I will go out and buy shit! We can do jigsaws, play records, play cards, and play board games.”

She’s upping her energy to try and get him excited.

“I will get us a radio for the bedroom so that when I’m at the studio you can listen to whatever you want! You can listen to the ball games on there!”

She takes a breath.

“I will get you your papers every morning. I can get you some books. Maybe you can read some best sellers! See if they can be made into screenplays. Some sneaky work. I won’t even tell.”

She slaps his hand and winks at him. “And also” she lowers her voice as though she’s giving him an exclusive secret, “And I don’t do this for just anyone… because I’m in popular demand, and for you only I will even do it for free… but I will even put on the performance of a lifetime for you. I will get my old scripts out and act out every part for you. Hell, I might even sing!”

He starts laughing heartily, but she interrupts his laughter attempting to maintain her dramatic seriousness, holding her hand that was on his up, attempting to silence him. 

“No-, no-, please don’t try and talk me out of it. I’m doing it because it’s you and of course, the love of the craft, the art, not for the money.”

She smiles down at him again, places her hand back on his. “And think about this… the doctor didn’t say anything about smoking. I will even let you smoke a cigar in bed, as long as I can smoke my cigarettes. Hell, I will even give up drinking…” She is looking down dejected. “In front of you…” she looks back up at him, smiling through a pout, rubbing his shoulder.

His mood was clearly uplifting higher than it was when Saul was here.

_It worked._

**How did she do it? She never failed to cheer him up… when she wanted to**.

“Sounds great, sweetheart,” he responds, lifting a hand to hers on his shoulder, grasping it, bringing it down to join the ones on his bed.

 _Sweetheart. She could almost cry. That’s the first term of endearment he has given her in years._ She rolled her lips inward, looking up to the ceiling trying to keep it together.

They stay like that there contentedly for a minute.

“Feel any better?”, she asks quietly looking back down towards him.

“Yeah,” he responds genuinely.

She smiles again. “Good,” she says as she pulls her hands away and slaps his upper hand.

“Right! I need to get going. Our great plans have given me a long list of a lot of items, meaning a lot of shopping all over town to do! Then I still need to get to the studio.” She says this as she turns to collect her hat so she can pin it back into her hair, and then reaches down to collect her purse.

“Don’t go to any trouble, Avis,” he says kindly.

She whips herself around dramatically, looks at him mock offended, a grimace on her face.

“And miss a chance to go on a shopping spree, spending a fortune! You wish!”

She smiles and walks towards him again casually. She places her hand on his forehead again, stroking her hand back just the once.

“I want to” she says sincerely. She leans forward to kiss his forehead lightly.

_So much for not showing affection to protect yourself, Avis. She couldn’t help it. She loved him. He looked too helpless and childlike lying there. He needed her._

**This advancing affection from her is something that is surprising him on a daily basis. Not that he’s complaining.**

She turns around and walks toward the door. As she gets to the door, he shouts her name.

“Avis!”

She turns her head back to him. He still sits staring at her, then smiles gently.

“Thank you”

She smiles, raises her hand and salutes him with two fingers.

“See ya in the morning, kiddo!”


	4. Honey, I'm home

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thoughts of Avis in italics.  
> Thoughts of Ace in bold.

“GERTIE!”

She is so loud it echoes throughout the entire house. Avis stands inside the front door, three bags by her foot, removing her gloves swiftly.

Gertie appears panting, “Yes, Mrs Amberg?”

“Gertie, there are a bunch more bags in the car. Oh, and there is a table… and a radio! So, you might want to grab John before you go out there. The man at the store had to put the table in. It’s quite heavy. But if you want to bring in the rest of the bags up to the master bedroom immediately, I can get these ones here and meet you up there.”

“Yes, Mrs Amberg.” Gertie turns around walking directly to the kitchen. Avis is guessing she’s going to get John, the gardener. _Delightful man. Has been with us since the beginning. Will do anything to help._

She collects the bags she had brought in herself and makes her way up the grand staircase towards the master bedroom. She was beginning to get hungry. She had only had a light bite at the studio after she had finished shopping. _Four hours she had shopped for._ By the time she was in and out of the car and spoke to each store assistant looking for recommendations, she was exhausted. However, she was flung directly into a meeting with Ellen and Dick when she arrived at the studio. She was hit with updates on each department and their budgets. How filming was coming on. They had already started to view and edit the footage they already had. It was a lot of information to take in. However, she should be relieved considering only one week ago they were facing burning crosses. The lack of existing drama and no repeat attacks which was a huge alleviation. Of course, people were still boycotting and protesting but she could handle that.

As she walks into her bedroom, she hears Claire calling behind her from another room, “mummy? Is that you home?”

“Yes, I’m in here darling,” she says as she drops the bags onto the bed and kicks her heels off. _She really did feel tired_ , she thinks as she sags onto the chaise lounge at the end of the bed. _She doesn’t have time for this, she still has a lot to organise_. She takes a long breath as she flops back, her shoulders and head hitting the bed as she closes her eyes. 

Just then Claire enters distracted by a script in her hand, “I had my first scene today…”

She notices her mother half sprawled on the bed, “… oh, are you all right?”

“Yes darling, I’m just tired,” Avis sighs and sits up slightly, leaning on her elbows, giving Claire her full attention.

“How did your first day of filming go?” She gives Claire the most encouraging looking smile she can manage.

Claire smiles. _She is clearly excited but also maybe nervous_. She starts pacing past Avis. “Oh, I don’t know. I was nervous at first. First time on film! It feels very different to rehearsal. But I think it went all right… I remembered all of the lines, and it didn’t take hundreds of takes! Raymond seemed happy with it.”

Avis smiles, grabbing Claire’s hand as she paces past, attempting to halt her. She looks up at a nervous looking Claire, “I’m sure you were brilliant.” She gives her hand a little shake, which makes Claire let out a huge sigh and a breathy laugh.

Just then Gertie enters with another lot of bags, also carrying a large radio. She is followed by John who is carrying a table with legs on only one side and wheels across the bottom panel. _It had taken her three furniture stores to find an easily accessible table similar to the one in the hospital._

“Gertie! You shouldn’t have carried that radio! You will hurt your back!,” Avis exclaims dropping Claire’s hand.

Gertie places the radio onto the dresser, smiling weakly, “it’s honestly not that heavy Mrs Amberg.” When she places down the radio, she moves to place the bags she is carrying next to the others Avis has dropped onto the bed.

Avis shakes her head and then realises John is looking around waiting to be told where to place the table. “Oh John! If you could come around to Mr Amberg’s side of the bed and leave it there”. She stands now, gesturing to the side of the bed furthest away from the doorway. John nods walking towards where she had pointed as Claire jumps out of his way. “You could have rolled it in you know, I wouldn’t have minded,” she smirks.

He places the table down and addresses Avis kindly, “it’s no problem, Mrs Amberg. Is there anything else I can do for you?”

“No, John. Thank you so much. You are a gem.” She smiles, touching his arm as he walks past her to exit the room.

“All right Gertie. Let’s start making our way through all of this,” Avis says, eyes widening, placing her palms on either side of her face, staring at all the bags on the bed now.

“What on earth did you buy?” Claire asks, coming to take a look.

“Well… your father is coming home tomorrow morning, so I had to prepare. I got a whole bunch of things!,” she says as she grabs the first bag as Gertie stands by her awaiting instruction.

Claire grins excitedly, “Daddy is coming home? So soon?! That’s brilliant!”

“Yes darling, it is. However, he has been instructed to stay in bed for the foreseeable future. There are a whole bunch of rules. Oh Gertie, he can only eat porridge and fluids. So, soups, broths. All the usual ones he likes. You are going to have to go to the store in the morning and get a whole bunch of vegetables and lentils. You know, all the things that are good for you that he hates!”

Gertie nods seriously beside her. “Also, as soon as I get up in the morning you will need to change the bed sheets. The best ones we have. He is not allowed any alcohol either, and if he sets one foot out of his bed, he is to get right back in. If he doesn’t, I want to know immediately… so I can kill him…” _She is completely serious._ “That goes for you too Claire. You let me know if you see him doing anything like that.”

Claire nods agreeably sitting on the chaise lounge, distracted by what was inside the bag she has picked up and started looking through.

“What is this?,” she says smirking, looking at her mother suggestively.

“That…” Avis says grabbing the lace piece and the bag along with it, “...is undergarments and nightwear I bought… for myself.” She finishes looking down at it, stuffing it back into the bag.

Claire stifles a giggle, “Oh la la!”

“What? I am not allowed to buy myself undergarments, a couple of nightdresses, and nightgowns? I went into the store to buy your father new silk pyjamas since he’s going to be stuck in bed,” she looks at her daughter narrowing her eyes.

“Not at all, mummy. They just look quite… saucy,” Claire says smirking, holding in a laugh.

Avis narrows her eyes at Claire again. “Not everything is about sex, Claire! Gertie, please put these in my dresser and closet.”

She looks back at the rest of the bags. “Ok, let’s get through this,” she huffs.

*****

Avis is up and ready early the next morning. She goes around the bedroom over and over again. Making sure everything is in the right place. Looking at it from this angle and that angle to ensure that it was most convenient for him. She has more or less promised him that she was going to make this as easy as she could.

She has to admit that she didn’t really sleep much last night anyway. She kept thinking of how it would be. If he would like the things she had bought him. If he would be comfortable. If his mood would lift. But she also kept thinking of how it would be now between them. They had entered this odd new dynamic. She still didn’t know how he really felt. _Was she more like a glorified nurse? Would he continue his affairs once he was well again? Would she? She had to sleep in a bed with him now after months of his absence. She would be in constant close proximity with him. And they had been slightly flirty in the past few days. How would that be?_

There was a lot to think about.

She had telephoned the hospital this morning. He would be arriving at around 10am in the ambulance. They had said that they would bring him in on a stretcher directly up to the bedroom so that he didn’t have to worry about the exercise or breathlessness. She had offered to come down to escort him but had been told that it would not be necessary. She had arranged not to go into the studio today. Ellen and Dick would be coming up to the house later to see her, so that was much more convenient. She didn’t think she would be ready to leave him at home alone today.

So, there she was at 10am pacing the huge foyer of her house. _Why was she so nervous?_ Gertie had already left to go to the store to get an array of groceries. Claire had wanted to stay but had arranged to rehearse her next scene on the lot. Avis encouraged her to go. He would be here when she arrived home that night. So here she was alone. Waiting. She kept on moving to the window, twitching the curtains to look out both for him and any photographers. No one had known he had a heart attack, nor had they seen him in a few months. She huffed again, looking at her watch for the umpteenth time.

The doorbell rang. _Thank Christ_.

She runs to it and flings it open seeing a young paramedic smiling. The ambulance is clearly down the steps behind him where another paramedic is opening their doors.

“Mrs Amberg?” he seekingly asks.

“Yes,” she responds, still looking over his shoulder. She looks both at the ambulance and from side to side. _No photographers that she could see._

“We have your husband here with us. We have been instructed to take Mr Amberg directly to his bed on a stretcher. So, if you would be able to lead the way when we bring him in?”

“Yes, that’s fine. However, can you try and go as quickly as you can from the car to the house? Even though we have security, photographers, the leeches that they are, sometimes make their way in. Mr Amberg wouldn’t like this in the media,” she asked nervously, still looking from side to side.

“Of course, Mrs Amberg. I will go get him now. Also, here is the bag I was told to pass on of your husband's possessions from the hospital,” he smiles again, passing her the bag, and then turns looking from side to side as he moves back to the ambulance.

She sees him speaking to the other paramedic and then finally Ace appears on a stretcher. She watches as they move toward her, she tries to move her head from side to side to see past the paramedic at the front to catch a glimpse of Ace’s face. She wants to gauge how he looks. When she finally catches it, he is staring at the sky. _It’s probably been a while since he has seen that now that she thinks of it._ She is startled out of her thoughts as the paramedics are right in front of her. She leads them in the front door as quick as she can and up the staircase, into the master bedroom, as she hears them pant behind her. She has heard nothing from Ace thus far. As she enters the bedroom, she walks to the other side of the room gesturing to Ace’s side of the bed, glad that she had pulled back the covers completely and propped up the pillows earlier this morning.

“Just there,” she says weakly, throwing the bag onto the chaise lounge. The front paramedic smiles through a grimace. They manoeuvre themselves with shocking expertise so that the paramedic at his head is at the top of the bed and the one at his foot at the bottom. She catches his eyes only once. They place the stretcher onto the bed and manoeuvre Ace onto his left side. She hears a groan from him for the first time. One of them then removes the stretcher, whilst the other rolls him back onto his back. Another groan from him.

Both paramedics now give a deep sigh. _They all do._

“Well Mr Amberg, it was lovely meeting you,” they both take a turn each extending their hand to him to shake it.

“Thanks boys. Hope to never see you again!” he gives the best fake laugh he can muster, shaking their hands. She glides to him to move the covers over him as she says to the paramedics walking towards the bedroom door, “hold on and I will walk you out!”

She smiles at Ace, who looks pretty exhausted, pats his hand and moves towards the door to escort out the two paramedics. She leads them down the stairs attempting to make some small talk.

“Well that was pretty prompt. You both seem pretty experienced?” 

“Yeah, I’ve been a paramedic for 3 years and Charlie here has been one for 2 and a half. This is the easiest part of the job to be fair. You should see us when we need to resuscitate.” Both paramedics laugh.

 _That’s not funny_. She gives a hearty fake laugh as she opens and holds the door as they begin to walk out.

“Well thanks for everything boys!”

“Have a great day, Mrs Amberg!,” they both shout as they get back to the ambulance.

She shuts the door in pure relief that she doesn’t need to have a prolonged conversation with them. She leans against the closed door and looks up at their bedroom door on the landing. She pushes herself off the door and back up to the bedroom. She couldn’t gauge what his mood was. She is hoping it’s good.

As she walks in, she sees that Ace has navigated himself to sit up slightly, propped up against the big feather pillows. He is straining a little to try and see what is on the new table she bought. **What is this new table about? Did she steal it from the hospital? Oh, there are all of today’s papers. Just as she promised.**

“I can see the doctor didn’t cure you of being completely nosey!” 

Upon hearing her voice, he shoots his head back to her.

“New?” He nods to the table.

She walks across the room smiling, heading to the new table.

“I kept my word, Ace. I spent a small fortune yesterday,” she looks up to the ceiling, posing dramatically, hand on her hip.

He chuckles, “I can see”.

“Do you want a run through?” she asks, looking back at him.

“I don’t know, do I?” he quips. _All right. His mood is not bad. I can work with this._

She smiles. _Time for a show._ She gives two huge coughs. She gets into a posing stance, puts her right hand on her hip and gestures her left arm towards the table.

“Well Mr Amberg” she squeaks in a high tone, fake, bimbo voice, “here we have a genuine wooden table made from the best maple trees from Japan.” He laughs as she moves towards the table swaying her hips.

“As you can see…” she begins to roll the table towards the bed so that the table can sit over his lap as the side stops at the bedside, “… this table is designed so that it is mobile and accessible for those wishing to use it when sitting within their bed. It’s perfect for a number of different activities such as…”

She now steps back stares at the ceiling and lifts her fingers pointing to each finger as she rhymes off the uses still maintaining her fake voice, “cards, board games, books, eating, and jigsaws”.

She stops then, looking at him with a tilted head, still holding her arms out in a pose, exaggerating a huge smile. 

**She’s on top form today.**

He laughs again, “very nice.”

She then steps around his table to gesture to the bedside table.

Maintaining the squeaky bimbo voice, she lifts both her hands to dramatically display a radio, “and this Mr Amberg, is a brand new, top of the range, latest Bendix 55 something something something model radio. It has a number of different stations where you can listen to not only sport sir, but also programmes such as Screen Directors Playhouse, where you can scout for Hollywood’s greatest actors,” she maintains her large dramatic smile and stance throughout all of this, awaiting his appraisal.

He continues to smile as he mockingly sucks in his breath as if he has just seen something seductive.

“So beautiful, it’s almost provocative. You have outdone yourself!”

**She was talented! He had known that from their earlier years. She would have done great in comedies. Definitely better than just a script girl.**

“There’s more!” she says enthusiastically in her fake voice, raising her hands dramatically into the air.

“Ok, I can’t keep this up.” Her face turning instantly straight and her voice back to being hoarse.

“My throat is starting to hurt, and I can feel myself losing brain cells”. He chuckles again, shaking his head.

“All right, let me show you what I bought you. First of all, let’s get the boring stuff out the way.”

She walks directly up to him, leaning her hands against the bed next to his right hip, curling her lip, the upper right of her lip rising above all. He can see her attempting to navigate her leg and as he goes looks down, he hears a clink. She has kicked something with her heel. He instantly looks back at her face, shocked. She stares directly back at him grinning.

“A bed pan!” She shouts this laughing as if it’s the most normal thing. He chuckles once in return. **She’s mad! Her playfulness though is infectious.**

“I thought you might want a brand new one since it might become your new best friend… ok what else did I get you?” She looks around excitedly for inspiration. She looks to the bedside table again.

“Aha! The books!” She moves to pick them up and sit them on his new table.

“All right so I spoke to the book shop owner. I told him that I wanted the best sellers, yi know. For your research,” she winks at him. “And here is what he gave me…” she picks them up one by one.

“We have ‘Father of the Bride’ by Edward Streeter. It’s meant to be comedic I think, and you have a daughter so I’m sure it will be good preparation for you when the time comes. Then there is ‘A Rage to Live’ by John O'Hara. It’s about American society and a formidable woman and she chases men or something. Let me know if it’s good, because I will borrow that after you if it is. Then there is ‘1984’ by George Orwell. The bookstore owner said something about it being about a potential future but it’s apparently quite controversial. A lot of suspense and an eye opener. I don’t know. Then I told him how much you love war books, so he gave me ‘The Naked and the Dead’ by Norman Mailer. Apparently, it’s this one guys experience in the South Pacific during the Second World War… So that’s enough to be getting on with just now. I hope you like them, but if you hear something on the radio or read something in the newspaper that you fancy then just let me know.” She shrugs and looks around again trying to remember what else she had bought.

**She had really gone to a lot of trouble. Going into the bookstore and speaking to the guy who owned it. Asked for ones he would like. Got ones that allowed him to stay semi-involved with work. She really put a lot of thought into this.**

“They seem amazing, Avis. You didn’t have to go to so much trouble.”

She wasn’t really paying attention because she was looking for her next inspiration. “Oh, don’t worry about it!” she said distractedly. She remembered that she had put the rest of it on top of her dresser. She paced across the room. **Where was she going now?**

“Here's most of it! I got us some board games!” She exclaims holding up each game in turn.

“The guy said these were the most popular! I got the latest Monopoly!” She holds it up for him to see across the room, screwing her face up in a smile excitedly.

“Which I will 100% win! Then there is Cribbage! Dominoes! Draughts! A jigsaw!” She holds each of them up in turn.

“I got some packs of cards!” She holds them up also, “but I will bring them over to your little table so that you can play Solitaire if you want to.”

 **She had really gone all out. He was astounded**. He sees her sneakily pick something up and hide it behind her back. She walks back toward him with a grin on her face. She places the cards on his table, still hiding one hand behind her back. He stares only at her eyes.

“And I got you a gift,” she says grinning.

“What is everything else you got me if this is a gift?” He challenges her with a cheeky grin.

“Shut up, you know what I mean!” She slaps his arm and continues to smile.

She waits a moment and then reveals her gift. She dramatically makes a gasping noise as she reveals them.

"Ohhhh, Ahhhh", she exclaims, circling the hand not holding the box around it over and over, as if she had just produced it by magic trick.

He looks down at the box and looks back to her eyes, “Cuban?”

“Absolutely. Only the best! Remember, you were always bitching about how you loved these when we were first married, and you couldn’t get them anymore. Well I found out not long ago that they sell them but was going to keep it as a surprise and buy you them for a special occasion, but I thought this was as good a time as any.”

He smiles, slowly taking the box from her hands. He looks down at the box, rubbing his hand over the top, opening it and pulling out a cigar and rolling it between his fingers. 

“I didn’t think you could get them anymore?” He inspects them over and over.

 _Good, he likes them!_ She grins widely at him, clasping her hands. “Well what can I say? I know a guy!” She raises her eyebrows suggestively and pauses then. “You like them then?”

**How could she doubt that?**

“Absolutely. All of it, Avis. You really outdid yourself!” **He feels quite overwhelmed by the thought put into these gifts by her.**

She mock scoffs again, “Oh! But there’s more!”

“No, Avis. This is all too much already. You shouldn’t have gone to all this trouble.”

But she’s already walking away from him towards his dresser, “Shut up,” she mockingly shouts back to him over her shoulder. She opens the drawer of his dresser and pulls out 7 different sets of clothing, each a different colour, and sets them on the dresser top.

“Silk pyjamas from Gucci and Balmain. Pierre sends his best wishes with them. Threw in a set for free. So, I got them in an array of colours. Didn’t know what you would fancy. Thought it would be nice to have some since your stuck in here. I also got them in a sizer bigger than usual.” She holds her hands up, “not because you’re any bigger, but because I thought that if you’re stuck in that bed, then you wouldn’t want anything tight. I thought you would want to be as comfortable as possible.”

**He was getting choked up. She had put so much thought into all this. He was getting so overwhelmed by her kindness. He knows she promised it all yesterday, but he didn’t think she would do every single part! She really was trying to make this shitty experience as smooth as possible for him. She really was a great wife. How had he not recognised that before now?**

He remains completely silent, just stares over at her.

_Shit. Had she gone too far? Was he calculating the amount of money she had spent? It hadn’t been that much. Hell, she’d spent more on a lunch date with Ellen before. Maybe he didn’t like the pyjamas. Or that she bought them a size bigger. She said it’s not because he was getting fat! If anything with being fed through a tube, he had lost weight! Should she tell him that? She wasn’t just going to stand here._

“You don’t like them?,” she ventures nervously.

He remains silent, closes his eyes and shakes his head.

 _Her heart sinks._ She bows her head down, disappointed. _She had tried so hard to think of how to make this comfortable for him. What’s up with Balmain and Gucci? They were the best of the best. It’s not like they didn’t have the money._

“It’s not like we can’t afford it, Ace and I wasn’t saying anything about your weight.”

**Fuck! He hadn’t said anything.**

“No, it’s not that Avis.” She looks up to him instantly. “I’m baffled at how much trouble you have gone to. I’m extremely grateful.” He paused for a moment. **It’s his turn to give some reassurance.**

“This is what I meant the other day when I said it was obvious, I wanted to see you first. Because you’re my wife. And the trouble you have gone to for me, after everything we have been through, with only one day’s preparation is extraordinary. I am a very lucky man.” He says, nodding to himself thoughtfully. **God, he felt like shit. How had he not seen her before this.**

She couldn’t help the tears that came into her eyes. _It was worth it. Four hours running around yesterday for this reaction was worth every second, every penny, and every ounce of exhaustion she felt last night. She would do it ten times over for this same reaction again._

She nods, smiling weakly, “I’m glad you like it all”.

They stay silent for a moment, then she turns back around to the dresser and picks something up spinning around, holding 5 record sleeves.

“Is this a bad time to mention that if you want the record player moved upstairs at any point, I also bought you records?” She smiles weakly again.

He laughs gasping, “I love them.”

“You don’t even know what they are,” she says confused, wiping an eye.

“I still love them,” he reaffirms, staring only into her eyes, not even looking at the records. 

_She was not used to this. Not from him. Not really from anyone. Not unless she expressly asked for it and paid for it. She didn’t know how to handle this._

So she did what she did best, talked, “Well it’s Perry Como – ‘Some Enchanted Evening’ and ‘Forever and Ever’, Pee Wee Hunt - ‘Twelfth Street Rag”, Gene Kelly and Frank Sinatra – ‘Take Me Out To The Ball Game’, and Frank Sinatra and Betty Garrett - “You’re Awful”. That last one is for me. I love that song.”

“Me too. On the Town. Great movie,” he responds, his eyes still boring into hers. She continues her eye contact with him. _What is going on here?_

**No wonder she loves that song. It’s their whole relationship summed up.**

She clears her throat and turns back around placing the records onto the dresser. She starts putting away the pyjamas into the drawers.

“I imagine you want to get out of that hospital gown and into a pair of nice pyjamas. Do you have any preference which?” _She knew this was coming._

**Christ. How was he going to get himself into a pair of pyjamas?**

“Ehm… not at all,” he says nervously. He sees that she leaves out the blue ones. _To match his eyes._

She picks them up and moves towards him. _He looks nervous. Suddenly the bedcover is so interesting. He must be freaking out. It’s been a while. She will just need to make it easier on him. Even if she was freaking out._

She brought herself up to full height, squared her shoulders back.

“All right!,” her tone startles him; his head shoots up at her. She places the pyjamas on his bed and starts to move the new table away from his bed. She starts gesturing with her hands.

“Okay, Ace. Obviously, I’m going to have to help you here and you don’t need to worry because I’m your wife and if memory serves, and everything is as it once was, you will still have what I have seen and ridden before.” He gawks. “But if it makes you feel better, I will do the best I can not to look. So how do you want to do this, sunshine?”

She finishes firmly, looking him in the eye, with her hands on her hips.

**Oh, so we are playing it that way, are we?**

“I’m not worried about anything. Look at whatever you want. Will probably be the best action I’m going to have for a long time, so whatever way you want,” he challenges her.

She grins wickedly at that. _Good, they are on the same page._

She goes into problem-solving mode, looking him up and down, “All right, how about we swing you around so that your sitting on the bed. I will untie that gown at the back, we can shimmy the pyjama bottoms on up to your knees, stand you up, whack them up, sit you back down and then work the top. That should avoid me seeing too much. Sound good?”

“Marvellous,” he says cheekily.

“What about a shower?” 

“Had one at the hospital this morning,” he retorts starting to work on sitting up properly.

_Thank god. We can tackle that another day!_

“All right, here we go!” 

She grabs onto his right arm as she helps him successfully sit up. She moves to remove all of the covers off of him so he can slide off the bed without issue. He starts to move his legs to the side of the bed as she comes back up to support him under his arm. He starts swinging around as she moves one of her hands over his thighs, steering them towards her until they are completely over the edge of the bed. He is now sitting on the side of the bed but is breathing heavier. She sits down next to him, putting her arm around his back.

“You okay?”, she asks soothingly.

“Yeah, just need a sec. You can start untying at the back if you want.”

She nods and leans backwards so she can see the ties. There are three. One at the bottom, middle and at the neck. She undoes the middle and bottom, leaving the neck so the whole thing doesn’t come off when he stands. She then rights herself and stands up in front of him. She pulls at the gown on either side of his legs, pulling it out from under him. As she does this, quite unaware to her, he has a pretty good view of her physique, mainly her cleavage moving around in front of him. **Welcome home, Ace.** He feels a stirring. **Well there’s a reaction he wasn’t expecting for a while.**

She stands up straight, exhales strongly. “If I knew I was going to be exercising today, I would have put on something more comfortable.” He chuckles. She grabs at the pyjamas, selecting the pants, ruffling up each of the legs. She then bends down in front of him on her knees and grabs his left foot, starting to shimmy the clothing up his leg to his knee. _Jesus, this outfit was hot when you were bouncing about like an idiot_ **.**

 **Now here’s a position he misses seeing her in. Another great view though**. He leans forward for a better look.

“Okay, so when I get up to your knee, you need to trap it between yourself and the bed. Try and get it up to your mid-thigh if you can.” He nods grabbing one leg as it gets to his knee, doing as she says.

She starts on the next leg, same procedure, he grabs it as it gets to his knee. She sits back on her heels now, looking at how this going to work. _He’s pathetic at this._

“All right”, she smacks away his hands impatiently, “move your hands away”. She stands up now and grabs both sides of the pants on either side of his outer knee and shimmies it up as much as she can. She manages to get it up to his mid-thigh.

She stands back surveying her work. _Yeah, we should be able to get this done in no time._

“You ready, sailor?” She raises her eyebrows, suggestively smiling.

“As I’ll ever be,” he gives a wolfish grin.

“All right, you put your arms on my upper back, and I’m going to go to your lower back and then we are going to get you to stand up. Make sure the back of your legs does not leave that bed because I can’t go too far down or you’re going to topple,” she warns.

“Yes, ma’am,” he says strictly.

She rolls her eyes and leans down, putting her arms under his to his lower back. _This is the closest thing she has had to a hug from him from years. She forgets how warm his body always is. Focus, Avis._

He put his arms around her, meeting on her upper back. **Her perfume is stunning. Never changed since the first night he bedded her at that bar. He wants to bury his head in her neck. Focus Ace.**

“Okey, on the count of three, we rise. One… Two… Three…” she shouts, muffled into his shoulder. She pulls him as hard as she can, as he pushes his legs as hard as he can, still trying to keep them against the bed. They make it halfway and he loses his balance toppling backwards, taking her with him. She catches herself by letting him go and bracing herself on the bed on their side of him. However, she ends up dangerously close to his face.

She’s breathing heavily, as is he.

“Round Two?” she whispers.

“Always,” he whispers back raising his eyebrows briefly as his mouth twitches.

“On three”, she attempts to ignore him, as she wraps her arms back around his waist. “One… Two… Three…”

She pulls him even harder this time, as he pushes his legs as hard as he can, still trying to keep them against the bed.

As he rises, he towers over her increasingly and then he is steadier. She pulls back to make sure he’s all right.

“Hold onto my shoulders still, all right? I’m going down.” He nods, **if he had a nickel…** as she quickly bends, running her hands down his sides strongly, wanting to still support him.

 **Oft, that feels good.** _Keep your face facing outward, Avis. Don’t touch his dick. Don’t touch his dick. Don’t touch his dick._

Her face is by his left hip as she grabs one side of the pyjamas and feels around his right knee for the other side. When she has it, she flies the pants upward until she gets the band around his waist. _Thank god. Success! And they didn’t have to have the embarrassment of her seeing or feeling anything._

She quickly clasps her hands at his waist to make sure she has him and he is steady. His arms encasing her upper back. She is pressed firmly against him.

_What is that pressed against her lower stomach? No. It can’t be._

**Oh. Uhm.**

She looks down still pressed against him trying to figure out where it’s coming from. _I_

_t is exactly what she thought._

She is so shocked. _That’s not going to get the better of her though._ She slowly raises her head to look directly into his eyes with a seductive smirk. Still pressed firmly against him. He simply stares back at her, so close, almost nose to nose.

“Honey, I’m home,” he coolly says with a roguish grin.

She licks her upper lip and laughing pushes him backward, so he falls back onto the bed, bouncing in a sitting position.

_Was that because of her? Or was it just a morning thing? Or WHAT?_

She shook her head from side to side, laughing.

“Right Casanova, let’s get your gown off.” She stepped forward, manoeuvring in between his open legs so she could reach behind his neck to undo the final tie at the top. As she did so, he raises his hands as if to place them on her hips but thought better of it and places them on the bed beside him.

**Don’t take it too far, Ace. There is a difference between flirting and manhandling. Let’s not piss her off.**

She finally undoes the tie and steps back taking the whole gown with her. He sits there plainly. Looking down at his legs, embarrassed. **Well he’s not a young fit guy anymore. He was fat. There was no other way of saying it. He always suspected that was why she began cheating with another guy. He didn’t do it for her anymore and no wonder. Then look at her. Still in great shape. Yeah, ok, she had filled out a little since he first met her but look at that silhouette. He can’t imagine what she thinks now.**

_She can see he is back to being bashful. After what she just felt up against her, that was surprising. He wasn’t embarrassed about that. One more second and he would have started grinding against her. Why would he be embarrassed by his torso, like she gives a shit? He was always a big guy, like a huge, protective bear. It’s one of the first thing that attracted her to him._

They remain silent as she picks up his pyjama top unbuttoning it. She then helps his left arm into it and steps between his legs again to move it around his back and then his right arm into it. When she has it nice and straight, she begins buttoning it up.

“If you start feeling unsteady sitting up too long, just put your arms back around my back,” she suggests aloofly. **Well he wasn’t going to pass up the opportunity to do exactly what he was too afraid to do before.**

“Yeah, I am a bit,” he says as he raises his arms, placing them around her waist, resting his forearms on her hips.

_He probably could button it up himself but she’s not lying to herself that she’s not enjoying this domesticity with her husband. Taking care of him, being in his proximity. It’s amazing how it’s so nerve-wracking and yet so satisfying._

**He could button it himself, but he would rather she did it. It gave him the opportunity to have his arms around her. Pretend it was 20 years earlier when he closed his eyes.**

When it was all buttoned up, she places her palms on his shoulders, sees that his eyes are closed. “All done,” she says taking a deep breath and smiling. She stays a moment and then pats twice. He took his cue that it was time to remove his arms. **But he didn’t want to**. _With his arms around her waist. It felt like old times. Her stomach flip flopped._

“All right let’s get you into bed,” she says as he releases his arms and she steps away.

“Could have bought me dinner first, but all right,” he flirts as he attempts to raise his legs back up onto the bed whilst she bends to push them over the edge.

She laughs again, shaking her head, as she reaches for the covers, pulling them back over him.

“Shut up,” she laughs as she flicks her wrist letting go of the covers over him. He lies back into the big pillows.

**Why had they not flirted like this in recent years? They both clearly enjoyed it. Maybe there had been too much anger? Too much avoidance of each other? Too much neglect? Too many failed attempts?**

_He is starting to look tired._

“Feeling better?” she asks as she bends to pick up the gown she had flung onto the floor.

“Fresher!” he proclaims. “They're really soft and comfortable, Avis. Thank you.”

“Good! Glad you like them,” she plays back. “All right, why don’t you get some rest, or you can start playing with all the fun things I got you if you don’t feel like it.” She moves to the table and pushes it back to him so it's within his reach. She then reaches to the chaise lounge to grab the bag she was given earlier to remove his glasses, pen, and comb, to place onto the new table also.

“I’m going to run downstairs and figure out what we are going to do for dinner. I will be home all day today. I’m not going to the studio. Dick and Ellen are due to come around later on to give me any updates. If you’re up to it, maybe they can come up and say hi. But if you need anything just holler for me. I will keep the door slightly open and will be back up soon. All right?” 

“Sounds good, Avis. I am feeling a bit tired. Thank you again.”

She nods and walks towards the door, walking through it and closing it slowly but keeping it slightly ajar.

She takes a moment to lean on the wall in the corridor next to the bedroom door, giving a huge sigh.

_Well that was a rollercoaster. He had been so kind and thankful. She was being a huge playful, flirt! So was he! He was overwhelmed by what she had done for him. Had praised her as a wife. Said he was lucky. Then she stumbled onto him. Had been so tempted to just kiss him. And then the HARD ON! Oh my god, the hard on! Wasn’t expecting that at all. And he wasn’t even sorry for it. Then when he had his arms around her waist. She could have straddled his lap and stayed there forever. Well if this was how it was going to be in the next few weeks, she would stay at home every day and let the studio burn to the ground._

She raises her eyebrows and smirks, then pushes herself off the wall to make her way downstairs.


	5. The Truth

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thoughts of Avis in italics.  
> Thoughts of Ace in bold.

Yesterday had been a placid joy, a truly successful day. She had checked up on Ace after leaving him for a few hours and found him content with his reading glasses on the edge of his nose, reading his newspapers. She had spent the day reading scripts and missed having lunch as she was stuck on a phone call with Ellen. As she checked on him, Ace had invited her to come up to sit with him whilst she did her work. She had brought the scripts up to the bedroom, on his oath he would not attempt to look over her shoulder. They sat on the bed in companionable silence reading. Come dinner time she had arranged for both of them to eat in the bedroom. She didn’t think he would want to eat alone, and to be honest _neither did she_. She had sat on the edge of his side of the bed facing him on the other side of his table, sipping the same soup as he. She had even forewent having alcohol with her dinner, so as not to tempt him. She would have a couple when Ellen and Dick arrived an hour later. He had forgone reuniting with them on their arrival, as he had been quite tired after dinner and had opted to sleep instead. She had spent a couple of hours with Ellen and Dick, calling it quits earlier than usual due to her exhaustion of having no sleep the night before.

When she had climbed up the stairs and back into their bedroom, Ace had been awake, sitting up playing solitaire as he listened to the radio. She had been happy to see that. Was glad that the things she had bought were actually keeping him occupied. The radio program was a drama that had been in the middle of a storyline that he seemed interested in, so she had gone about getting ready for bed quietly. She had gone into their en suite and changed into her nightdress and dressing gown, and then gone to her vanity in the bedroom and removed her makeup, pinning her hair up as she also listened to the radio program. It had seemed interesting. When her preparation was completed, she had removed her dressing gown, crawled into bed, and cosied into her pillow, facing him. For a moment she had watched him intently listening and placing the cards around the table. She had felt quite happy then. When she had closed her eyes, being unable to keep them open any longer, he had even offered to turn it off so she could sleep. However, she had assured him that it didn’t bother her. She fell asleep contented, hearing the radio, his movements, and his breathing. _Still here._

When she wakes the next morning, she realises she has slept right through the night. She thinks back to yesterday, declaring it as a pretty successful day. She had turned in her sleep, facing away from him. She slowly turns back around to see if he was awake, which he is. He sits reading a book, frowning. She looks at the title. ‘A Rage to Live’. She smiles. The one about American society and the formidable woman who chases men or something. _Why would he be frowning at that?_

“Good morning,” she says smiling, in a sultry voice, but startling him. _She is surprised by how absorbed he must have been in the book to be startled by a greeting._

“Morning,” he grumbles, keeping his attention on his book. **He didn’t feel like talking. This stupid book had put him in a bad mood. He had liked the book yesterday when it was about a woman loving her husband. But good choice, Avis. Choosing a book about a woman who loves and commits herself fully to a guy for the first few years of their marriage until she starts having affair with a younger guy. It floods back so many emotions he has felt over the years, of Avis with the other guy. It enrages him and he can’t help it. He knows he’s done the exact same thing, but that wasn't the point. Just the thought of her writhing in passion under another guy drives him fuckin’ nuts, it always had.**

She is taken aback by his shortness. Her eyes widen as she leans further into her pillows. _Let’s try again._ She smiles.

“How long have you been awake?” 

He huffs, pulling away from his book, angry at being interrupted again.

“A couple of hours,” he growls, going back to his book.

Her eyes narrow a little, she can feel her temper rising. She’s _going to keep trying, no stress._

“Oh! You couldn’t have gotten a lot of sleep then. You were awake when I went to bed last night and you look like you’re a good way through that book.”

He really huffs this time, raising his voice now. “Well Avis, I did sleep a lot of the day yesterday so obviously I wouldn’t need as much sleep last night. And I started the book yesterday, but I picked it back up again this morning. So, if you don’t mind.”

He dramatically shakes the book and goes back to reading it. **He was being a condescending jackass, and he knew it. He literally couldn’t stop the rage that was in him but like hell was he going to bring that up now.**

Her eyes were bulging. _Who the FUCK did he think he was talking to? Who the FUCK did he think he was, speaking to her like that? She was going to throttle him. After EVERYTHING she had done for him in the last few days. Looks like there is no change here! Same old Ace! He could be such an asshole!_

She sat up blustering, whipping her bed covers off her. _She had to get out of this room, or she was going to do something she regretted. She promised she wouldn’t cause him stress and right now the only way to do that was to leave the room._

**He was being a jerk. He had to say something. Be kinder.**

Clearly his tone didn’t get the memo though, as he still comes across as extremely harsh.

“I need to have a shower today and I might need your help. It was really warm last night, and these silk pyjamas are clinging to me. I can’t stay in them and will feel sloppy going into a new pair without washing.” He sits silently, looking at her back as she sits on the edge of the bed facing away from him.

_Now he was asking her for help. THIS FUCKING MAN. He just… She could punch him. Be calm, Avis. He’s basically an invalid. He has been through a lot. She needs to be calmer. But he is SO LUCKY he doesn’t have the brick wall Avis Amberg from one week ago who would have told him to go fuck himself and drank a bottle of scotch, in a bath of champagne to spite him._

“No problem,” she says through gritted teeth.

Just then the telephone by her bed rings. She angrily rolls her eyes. Picks up the receiver and shouts angrily into the telephone.

“Hello?!... Hi Dick, what is it?”

Ace sits quietly, looking at his book, listening into her conversation. **Maybe if he is silent enough, she will forget he’s here and he can hear about what’s happening at the studio.**

She listens for a long while to Dick complaining about how Henry is wreaking havoc at the studio in her absence. Apparently, he had tried to add a whole scene to the movie. He thought it was missing something and lacked pizzazz. Apparently, he had suggested a musical number. _The guy just didn’t get the movie, did he? It’s not like she had a choice making him a producer though._

 _And there came back the migraine from last week._ She sighed heavily, leaned her elbow on her thigh, to support her hand holding up her heavy head.

“He’s really taking this whole producer thing seriously isn’t he?” Ace heard her respond. **He couldn’t hear anything on the other end of the telephone. What kind of producer wouldn’t take his job seriously? What was she asking that for?**

She continues to support her head as she nods at all the things Dick tells her Henry has done. He is getting angrier and angrier by the moment. She takes her chance to interrupt him.

“Okay, okay, Dick. I will call him… No, I’m not coming in today. I told you that last night… I promise I will call him and squash the whole thing. I will call you afterward to confirm I have, okay?” She tries to abate his anger. It seems to work as he becomes more sated when she assures she is going to fix it.

“All right, I will call you soon… All right… Bye.” She hangs the telephone up and immediately uses both hands now to support her head, still being supported fully by her knees. She gives a huge sigh and rubs her face. _Great. Back to the reality of running a studio when people can’t help themselves, making life fucking difficult. Just to be made all the easier by this fucking oaf I share a bed with, who wants to be a pain in the ass and have her shower him later._ She sighs again as unbeknownst to her, he watches. _Okay Avis. You got this, girl. Let’s get ourselves ready and start the day_.

**She seems stressed out, but his anger still hadn’t subsided.**

“You’re not going into the studio today either?” he asks pointedly.

She sighs and sits up straight, still hasn’t got the energy to turn around. “No, I was going to go back tomorrow. It’s fine though. Just because I’m not going in doesn’t mean I can’t do any work. I will just go down to the office and do my work there.” She says absentmindedly, standing up as she starts to walk to her vanity to start her morning process.

**In his office? With all his stuff? He has everything the way he likes it there. She’s going to go in and move everything around. Put all of her own stuff in there. That’s his room. He has documents in those drawers that he doesn’t want her to see. Hell, he’s even done loads of things with other woman in that room. She can’t be in here.**

“Why are you going into my office? That has all of my stuff in it, Avis. It has everything the way I like it and it has private and confidential documents in it. You had better not start to riffle through my drawers…”

He doesn’t even get the chance to finish what else he had to say because she jumps up, turning around, looking at him thunderously.

_She tried. God knows she tried. But that was IT._

“Are you fucking serious? ARE.YOU.FUCKING.SERIOUS?” She’s shouting at the top of her voice now. **Oh fuck, wrong move.**

“So, you put me in charge of your entire fucking studio and finances, but I’m not allowed to look in the drawers of your desk?” She is looking at him like he is insane, her eyes narrowed. She starts pacing from side to side. “You’re honestly telling me I am not allowed to use your office and I had BETTER NOT look through your drawers?”

She stops now and looks directly at him.

“Who the fuck do you think you are, Ace? And what the fuck is with you today? You went to bed like a fucking lamb and woke up like a fucking dragon.”

She is panting with complete rage. He simply sits there looking at her, eyes wide, but he does not speak. **If he has learned anything from 22 years of marriage to Avis Amberg, it’s that you don’t talk until Avis is finished, and experience tells him she is not.**

_It all comes back to her why they never got on. They had a few days of flirtation and Ace being kind, but this is the Ace she can’t stand. This is the Ace that makes her want to build up those walls and protect herself._

“And what the fuck do you have to hide anyway? You think you have a plethora of fucking secrets that I don’t know about?”

_She was going to do it. She could feel herself building up. She could feel her anger blowing the roof off the house, and when she was this angry it always spilled out._

She nods, smiling maniacally, “You think I don’t know about how you had your heart attack?” She pauses, twitching her eyebrows excessively.

“You think I don’t know that not only did you have a heart attack INSIDE another woman, but that you’ve been having an affair with Jeanne Crandall for ten.fucking.years.” His mouth dropped open. **He knew she knew about how he got the heart attack but not how long he had been with Jeanne.**

She smirks at his reaction, wild with rage, and nowhere near done.

“Oh, yeah! Jeanne and I had a long talk, Ace. She told me, that you had told her, that you were going to leave me for her because you loved her.” She never takes her eyes off of him. She wants to gauge every single reaction he had, but he remains stoic.

“To be honest, I felt sorry for her… because I knew for the last ten years you had been sleeping with various women. I didn’t know you kept a mistress, AND fucked a bunch of other young girls. But that poor woman had the absolute wrong end of the stick. Thought I was the only other woman you were fucking, through obligation of course. She thought she was the only other girl.” She pauses pointing to him, challenging him venomously.

“But you and I both know better, don’t we Ace? We both know that it’s been years since you’ve touched me.” She declares this loudly, angrily, bitterily.

“So, I wasn’t the competition, it was all the other girls you have been screwing like a factory line, since not long after you became the studio head. Jeanne was the furthest thing from the only other girl.”

She holds her hands up in a mock shock now.

“But plot twist,” she pauses, “she doesn’t love you, Ace. Said she thought she did at the beginning, but it was all just a fantasy. She had wanted to end it with you years ago, Ace. The only reason she didn’t is because she thought you would end her contract, and she would have nowhere to go.”

He looked down to his hands. **Oft, so Jeanne had told her everything and had been stringing him along for years, just as he had right back.** She looked disgusted now, _didn’t give a shit that he might be hurting._

_Did she have the balls to bring up her discrepancies now? She was all in. She was sick of the lying and the secrets that everyone knew!_

“And she told me, that you had told her, that it was all okay that you had been having an affair, and loved her, and were going to leave me, because I had been having an affair with a guy who ran a gas station?” He snaps his head back up to her. She raises her eyebrows at him, still smirking crazed. “Oh yes, I know all about that.”

She was panting now. He looked back down panting himself, enraged.

**He didn’t want to talk about her with other men. He didn’t want to! He knew she had been sleeping around for a few years now, mainly with the guy who ran the gas station but he can’t start picturing it now, he would blow a gasket.**

“I’m not doing this,” he says shaking his head, trying to wash his hands of it, pushing his table away as if making to attempt an escape from the bed.

“You don’t have a choice! You’re going to listen to what I have to say!” she fires at him, screaming. He stops immediately, looking directly at her. She is crazed, shaking, furious.

**Ok, he will listen.**

He gestures his hand for her to continue. She is quieter now but still firm.

“I did have affairs, Ace. Multiple of them. If you can call them that.” She looks at the floor, as he flinches in anger. _No, she was going to look him in the eye. No more lies._

“I had sex with other men, including the guy who ran the gas station. But I paid all of them for the pleasure. Some outright, some worked for us, but they don’t anymore. But not one of them could be classed as an affair.”

She grimaces, pausing as he looked up at her shocked. **She paid had them? So, she got gigolo’s? And people we hired?! Including the stud who ran the gas station. It wasn’t affairs?**

“I paid them to show me kindness. To make me feel like I mattered, to make me feel desirable, to want me. Because you didn’t. No one did.” She looks down angry, but dejected.

“I didn’t love any of them. None of them loved me. It was an orgasm and feeling like I was still attractive enough to get a man hard, to drive a man crazy enough to want to kiss me, run a hand up my thigh, kiss my neck… All the things I have missed from you for years.”

She looks back up at him, _he was actually shocked. GOOD._ She started walking around to her side of the bed, calmer now, grabbing onto the knob at the bottom of it. She fidgeted with the bedpost, staring only at it. _She wanted him to know how he made her feel. Remembered talking about him with Jack on that first time._

“I _hired_ a guy a few months ago. Most of them don’t delve into your thoughts or feelings. Usually it’s a wham bam thank you ma’am and then I hand the money over, but this boy was new to Hollywood.” _She raised her eyebrows as if to say “You know the type. The bright eyed with a dream kind.” Like we were._

**Boy?! He didn’t want to hear about this.**

“He wanted to know if I thought that he would make it. In Hollywood. Asked me about my life. Asked me why I did it. Asked me if I had a husband I didn’t like. It was the first time anyone had ever asked me that.” She looked directly at him now. “I told him the truth, that I didn’t even admit to myself before I said it out loud to him. That I didn’t know how I would get out of this marriage. That I had become too accustomed to being rich and being taken care of by you. That I knew you could barely bring yourself to touch me anymore, so what was I to do? Play bridge? And that my solution to cope with it all was that I paid men to fuck me because it was less complicated. No strings.”

He was clearly struggling to listen to all of this. **She wanted out but the only reason she hadn’t was due to the money? She had told a gigolo that he couldn’t bear to touch her?** He stayed completely still hanging on her every word, his eyes never leaving hers.

She continued calmly.

“He asked me why I was fucking him in a hotel because it was so public. Said I was asking to get caught.” She paused, looking down, trying to hold in the tears that she felt were coming. _She started feeling pathetic again. She hated feeling vulnerable._ She looked back to him, eyes shining.

“I told him that I maybe did want to be caught by you. That maybe I wanted to make you jealous. That maybe I wanted you to know that someone else wanted me. That I was still alive, with so much more to give. I knew you didn’t care who was touching me but God I wanted you to, Ace.” She pauses again. _She had been emotional then, and she can’t help all of the hurt from loneliness and rejection she had felt for the last 10 years._

_Fucking tell him, Avis. No more fucking secrets._

She starts again determinedly, still looking at him.

“That was the first time I had said it out loud, Ace. To his stranger I had met for the first time. That all I wanted was my husband to notice me. To love me. To lust after me. I wanted you to respect me…” she started crying, “…to be jealous, to fight for me, to die for me. I wanted passion again, like it used to be when we were first married. You had introduced passion to me, Ace. All those years ago when we first met, I had only seen things like that in the movies. Had acted it out without knowing how it felt. You knew I hadn’t been with anyone worth mentioning. You introduced me to that. And when we were good, we were so fucking good.” She was exasperated but continued.

“The sex, the respect, the love, the passion, the desire, the quipping, the flirting between us was second to none. Even since I started having these encounters with these guys, I have felt nothing close to what we used to have. I have never been fully satisfied. I have had a taster of it again in these past few days with you though. The flirting, quipping, the attraction, the love, and fuck I didn’t realise how much I missed it." She threw her head back at just the thought of it. Took a deep breath and then looked back down to him. 

"I have felt so much rejection from you and loneliness for the past 10 years, and what’s worse is that I have got so used to it. Built up walls. Played the part of the rich wife with plenty of money. Refused to even think about how hurt I was when I was alone because it.just.hurt.too.much.” She was fully crying now. There was no attempt to stop. She wiped at her cheeks every so often as she spoke.

“I don’t know why you did what you did. I don’t know why you started sleeping with other women. I couldn’t think of anything other than it being because of me. My age. Getting older. Being too “Jewey”. Not attractive enough. Not fun enough. Not smart enough. Not sexy enough. I don’t know Ace. I don’t even know if I want to know.” She shook her head now. “When you pulled away from me and started cheating, you broke my heart, and it is still broken to this day. However, over the past week I have felt it mending. I have felt myself becoming the woman I once was.”

He finds a tear in his own eye now. **What had he done?**

_She is going to tell him everything now. She is leaving no stone unturned._

“I came to see you in the hospital.” She pauses. “The night before you woke up. I was feeling so down, so conflicted. I was struggling to cope with the decisions I made about the studio. Struggling with the consequences. I came to see you, so I had some company but didn’t have to talk to anyone. Of course, when I got there, I let it all out to you. As I usually do with everything but my hurt and pain. I told you about the shitty week I had been having, talked it through with your unconscious body, and it made me feel so much better!” She was exasperated.

“Then I got angry at you. At first, I thought it was because you put me in charge of the studio. I didn’t think I could cope with it. Then I realised I was just so angry at you for not being there to support me when I was stressed, when I was facing the biggest challenge of my life.” She paused and became silent, continuing calmer. “I told you I loved you, that I had never stopped loving you. That I needed you. Begged you not to die. Begged you to stay with me.”

She paused again. **She loved him? Had never stopped?**

“That was so hard for me to admit out loud. It was the beginning of the breakdown of these walls I have felt I have built up over so many years.” She smiled, laughing through tears now.

“And then you woke up! It was like you heard me. Like you had heard I loved you and you wanted to come back to me. But I didn’t get my hopes up, just bided my time to see how you felt. But fuck Ace, then you were so kind to me. So attentive, so complimentary. You’ve been cheeky, fun, flirty, and absolutely fucking everything I missed about you. Everything that you lost. Well lost towards me anyway. And I have been feeling so much hope for the future, until now. But I can’t keep going on this way if you’re going to go back to what you were before. If you go back to that way, then I really need to think about how I’m going to move forward with my life. Because-, “ her voice broke. “-Because the way you are acting right now, I cannot handle.”

She starts getting angry again, “after everything I have done, running around. Everything you have praised me for, you are back to treating me like shit! Thinking you can speak to me like I’m a piece of trash, basic wife with no thought.”

She pauses, stands up tall, “I always felt I had more to give, and with you putting me at the head of that studio, I finally gave it. I was validated, and felt fulfilled, and like I matter again.” She paused.

“And you Ace, you have in this past week made me feel like I matter again.” The tears in her eyes increased again. **He really was a piece of shit.**

“But you need to make a decision, Ace. You need to decide how you want to go forward.” She pauses again as he looks back worriedly.

“We both have had transgressions for years, Ace. Yes, I have a gut reaction to you sticking your dick in other women, though I’m sure you don’t give a shit that other men stick their dicks in me.” He winces again, though she misses it as she swings her hands around dramatically.

“But I am not a hypocrite. I can’t logically hold against you what I have also done back to you. Over time and with love, I believe I could forgive you. I believe I had already started to. I don’t know how you really feel about me, but it’s time to decide.”

She starts raising her voice again, “I love you, Ace Amberg. With all of my heart. But I will tell you this, your Jekyll and Hyde routine isn’t going to fucking work for me, Ace! One minute I’m the perfect, caring wife and you’re flirting, teasing me, putting your arms around me with a literal hard on for me, and then the next you’re biting at me for saying good morning. For asking how you slept. For using your fucking desk, which I have been using for the whole time you have been in a coma!” She pauses, chest panting.

Her strained voice from shouting is not abated as she continues at the loudest she had been yet.

“If we move forward from this it has to be with a change of fucking attitude from you and based on ONLY the truth. No more fucking lies between ME and YOU. So, you make your damned decision and I will be in THE OFFICE working, and then be back up in a few hours to GIVE YOU YOUR FUCKING SHOWER!” She shouts finally, storming into the en suite, slamming the door.

**Fuck. What had he done?**

She crashes her back into the back of the bathroom door when it slams closed. She bursts into tears, her chest wrenching. She stumbled forwards to the toilet and sits on top of it. She brings her fists up to her mouth, trying to stifle the sobs that are violently spilling out of her. _Oh my god. She had said it. Said it all. Told him everything. They had said it out loud to him for the first time ever. Well he hadn’t said anything. She hadn’t exactly given him a chance to. And she was supposed to cause him no stress. Well she fucking failed at that. This is why she shouldn’t have feelings. Why she created and lived by the character of Mrs Avis Amberg, the woman never be trifled with. Weak girls only got hurt. She had to build the walls back up after this. The hurt was too much. The pain was too much. But he knew now. Knew everything. Had been given an ultimatum. What were she to do if he said he didn’t want her? What were she to do if he said he did? She couldn’t think of this anymore. It was too much. She had to block it out for the time being. Get herself together. She had to go to work._

She ran herself a bath. She had to relax, stop her crying, allow her swelling eyes to reduce, her chest to stop heaving, her heart to stop wrenching. A lot to do before she went back out there to get ready to go downstairs.

She sat in the bath for an hour, becoming increasingly physically and emotionally numb. When she felt ready, she wrapped a towel around herself and left the bathroom. She decides she will not look at him as walks to her wardrobe by the bathroom door, as she picks out the first dress she sees, walking directly back to the bathroom to hang it up.

Ace wasn’t shocked to see her enter. **He had a lot to think about.** He had heard her sobs, the bath run, heard her get in and out from it. Knew she would need to emerge sometime. When she walked out it took a moment for him to get the courage to say something. Just as he opened his mouth, she was already walking back through the bathroom door with a dress.

He sighed, not knowing what to do. Just then she emerged from the bathroom again only in her towel, walking towards her drawers, selecting various items of underwear, and then to her vanity, picking up a few bits and pieces of he assumes make up and jewellery. Now was his chance.

“Avis… I-.” But he is interrupted.

As soon as she hears his voice, she straightens and says, “Don’t!”

There was silence.

“Please. Don’t, Ace.” She sighed and shook her head, holding onto her collection of underwear, hairpins, make-up, and jewellery. “I just can’t right now. And I don’t think you have thought about what I said for long enough”. With that she turns around and heads back to the bathroom, closing the door behind her.

**This was worse than he had ever imagined it could be.**

She emerges twenty minutes later, looking like the stunning, majestic Avis he has expected for so long now. However, she walks directly to the door and exits swiftly without a word.


	6. Shower

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you are all enjoying it! 
> 
> Thoughts of Avis in italics.  
> Thoughts of Ace in bold.

She had gone directly down to the kitchen to seek Gertie when she had left the bedroom. Had adopted her Mrs Avis Amberg - studio head and mistress of the house persona. _She was always most comfortable when she could be this way. When she could suppress her thoughts, emotions, hurt._ She never agreed with airing her dirty laundry in front of the help. Of course, they had witnessed a number of fights between herself and Ace over the years, and even when they weren’t in the room, they weren’t deaf. However, she had always found it tacky when the husband and wife of a household involved the help in their arguments, giving them a front row seat. It was vulgar for a husband and wife to openly argue in front of others - their arguments should stay between them. He was still the head of the household and their employers, so respect still had to be maintained when addressing them. She felt the same way with the employees at the studio. Whilst she was sure that not every one of them was convinced they had a strong marriage, she would always speak respectfully and defensively of Ace in front of any employee at the studio and she would do that until the day she died.

She had asked Gertie to make porridge for breakfast for Ace, adding a dash of honey to it as he liked. She had informed Gertie she was planning to forego breakfast but would take tea in her office, where she would be for the remainder of the day. She asked Gertie to gather several fresh towels and to place them in the en suite of their bedroom, as well as taking Ace’s newspapers up to him when she was delivering his breakfast. Avis had not explained in any way to Gertie that they had argued, _well it was no matter to her anyway_ , but had asked Gertie to regularly check upon Ace throughout the day as she would be too busy in the office, and wished to only be disturbed if completely necessary. Gertie, having been with Avis for 20 years, was accustomed to Avis’ manner of listing off orders and the way she ran her home so merely nodded and did not ask any questions even if she had suspected anything.

Avis storms directly to the office, swishing her satin dress around the table, her eyes catching the Academy Awards that sit on the fireplace above the table, and sits in Ace’s large office chair. She took a cigarette from her engraved “AA” golden cigarette case sitting on the desk, _a birthday gift from Ace from 4 years ago._ She lit a cigarette and took a long draw. She holds it in for a few seconds before exhaling strongly. _It was going to be a long day._ She places her head in her hand for a moment, giving a deep sigh. Sits there focusing on her own breathing for a few moments, occasionally taking another drag from her cigarette.

She hears the door open and quickly removes her hand from her head, seeing Gertie with a tray including her silver tea-set, her favourite cup and saucer, and a small vase with some flowers. She reaches across the table to flick the ash from her cigarette into the ashtray, moves some of the papers on the desk to the side so that Gertie can place down the tray, then takes another draw of her cigarette. As she exhales, Gertie places the tray down.

“Thank you, Gertie. I can pour it for myself. I will let you know if I need anything else,” she offers a weak brief smile as Gertie turns to leave.

The rest of the afternoon passes quite quickly. She had had to call Henry to give him the dress down he clearly needed. Had needed to remind him that whilst he was a producer, he was not the writer of the movie. She had had to back down a little when he reminded her of the reason she had giving him the role of producer in the first place. She had needed to be a little more finessing and remind him that whilst he could not change the script at his will and add whole scenes to a movie without a majority vote, especially when there was a consideration of budget, that there were other things he could do. She had suggested he work alongside Dick to get a better understanding of what he did. _Dick would hate her for that but what else was she to do?_ Had suggested that he would be very good at ensuring that each department did not go above budget. She had also suggested that his strong influence with the media meant that he could have a huge effect on how the movie was being spun in the media and that his connections could not only abate the bad press but could create great press, which in turn would make him more money. He had been more open to this idea and got off the telephone a little sour but pacified.

_She had felt drained for most of the day. Had felt she was being unfair staying away from him. Leaving him alone in the bedroom when he was practically an invalid. It’s not like he had the option to get up and walk out, or chase after her, or even leave the house if he wanted to. Was she perhaps being too harsh on him? No, this had gone on for years. It had to come to an end. This wasn’t how she would have planned to discuss it, but it was done now._

She had completed a lot of work that afternoon. Had been very productive in an attempt to keep herself distracted. She had been so immersed in work that she would have forgotten she had even had an argument with him this morning if it had not been for that anxious feeling in the pit of her stomach reminding her. She had gone through two pots of tea, one pot of coffee, and almost a whole pack of cigarettes, but had nothing to eat until dinner as she had no appetite. She decided not to join him for dinner. Had decided to remain downstairs and eat with Claire.

She had had a cocktail before dinner and wine with it, surprisingly not divulging to Claire that anything that had happened that morning despite feeling a little tipsy. However, she could not be sure if Claire suspected anything. Claire had gone up to sit with her father before dinner, had sat at the table expressing her concern for him.

She had said that he was quite quiet and looked almost crestfallen. She had expressed at first that she had been worried he wasn’t recovering, or was perhaps feeling melancholy from being bored, trapped in the room all day. She had suggested we should make a better effort with him. Avis had remained silent, had been hanging on her every word to see if Ace had divulged anything. She had been concerned about what he had been doing all day but didn’t want to make obvious she hadn’t been to see him. She picked at her fish, pushed it around her plate, taken more sips of wine as Claire had discussed it. Claire had noticed that she too was quieter than usual and had become suspicious. She had asked if something had happened. Avis hadn’t missed a beat, waving it off as ridiculous, saying she had a long day doing work and was simply tired.

She had remembered before dinner that she still had not helped Ace with the shower she had promised him. She had asked Gertie to get the plastic stepping stool that she had seen the maid use to reach higher spots when she was cleaning. She had thought of the idea earlier that day. Had thought that the stool looked small enough to fit into their oversized shower so that he could sit down as he showered, not having to stand for a prolonged period of time. She had asked Gertie to bring it upstairs for her after dinner and inform Ace that she would be there shortly. _She was nervous. Wasn’t ready for the conversation that inevitably had to happen._

Ace didn’t know what to do with his day. He had sat in silence for perhaps the first hour just thinking after she had walked out. He had barely touched his porridge, having lost his appetite. He at first had tried to occupy himself. First saw that fucking book. The starter of all this shit in the first place. He picked it up and threw it across the room. It had smashed into a lamp, knocking it over. He had tried to listen to the radio but every voice he tried to listen to just pissed him off, so he had turned it off.

He had instead been left with his thoughts. **Just as she wanted him to be.** **Just as he deserved to be.** He had been trying to process what she had said to him. She had divulged so much.

**So, Jean didn’t love him. That was fine with him. If he was being honest, he had given her the same lines for years. He said loved her; he was going to leave Avis. But he was never going to leave Avis. He quite honestly he didn’t want Jeanne after the first few years. She had become more of a convenience, so the fact that she felt the same was more of a relief.** **He found his lust in the younger girls he had the one-offs with. He had got used to having his cake and eating it.**

**But he had struggled to process the things Avis had said about her men. The gigolos. He was shocked that she hadn’t had emotional affairs. He had heard about the guy who ran the gas station, had even driven down there once to see him. He was a good-looking guy. Younger. It had made him feel sick, made him fuck Jeanne harder and angrier that night because he was so incensed. Funnily enough, fucking Jeanne in revenge for Avis carrying on with another guy didn’t make him feel any better about it though.**

**He had never felt so guilty than when he heard Avis talk about why she had done it. How she just wanted to feel desired, like a woman, hell, like a person. That she felt she had to seek it somewhere else because he didn’t give her what she wanted and needed. She had also been crying out for attention. Wanted him to know about it, be jealous, and reclaim her. Well he did know about it, and fuck was he jealous, but had not reclaimed her. Why had he not? His ego?**

**She said he had broken her heart when he had started having affairs. That she blamed herself for him doing it. He didn’t really know why he had done it himself. He had never thought about it. Had never been forced to. He knew it wasn’t her though. It wasn’t like she was unattractive or bad in bed. She had always been multi-talented, wild, and accomplished in that department. Something he had come to find after fucking various women who were not. So why had he done it?**

**She had told the young boy that she wanted to leave him but was too used to the lifestyle. He had NEVER in a million years considered that she had wanted to walk out on him. To be fair he never thought she would because of the money, but he thought she had been satisfied with her lifestyle. She had everything she wanted, he paid for it, she didn’t have to work, could have her social life, have her sexual conquests, and she didn’t have to show him any affection to get any of it in return. He didn’t think she wanted him, he supposed. But apparently that was all she wanted. That and a purpose. Which he had also inadvertently gifted her when he placed her in charge of the studio. His heart attack may have been the best thing that ever happened to her.**

**But she wanted him? He was confused by this. All she had done was snipe, challenge, and battle with him for years. They had always had their public mutual respect. But he was shocked that she had said it was he who had changed first?**

**Had he? He didn’t recall.**

**Yes, when he became the studio head he had struggled being at the top. A lot of decisions, stress, long hours, the power of having whoever he wanted whenever he wanted had been tantalising at his age. He spent so much time there he barely remembers seeing her other than when she stopped by to see him. Hell, he barely remembers Claire in her adolescence. That’s what being the studio head was. That’s what being ambitious was. That’s what paid for the lavish lifestyle he had provided for years. But now he thinks of it she had always come to the studio to see him. Had sat and listened to his woes, laughed at his clients jokes, held his arm, smiling at photographers at premieres. Would bring him food from home. Would get him little gifts. Would wait up for him until he got home just so she could hear about his day and cuddle into him. Would wake up early to make sure she could eat breakfast with him. God, she had really tried. Had really run around to see him and be with him back then, and he had been so blind.**

**How could he not see she had always been there waiting to be noticed, to be loved. And he never did. He really was a fuckin’ despicable husband. A despicable man. He was supposed to, as her husband, as a man, support her in every way. He hit the financial part on the head, but for fuck sake, where had he been for everything else? How could he have convinced himself that him and his wife had drifted apart, away from love, when it was him who had pushed the boat out from her, leaving her in her own boat without an oar.**

**No wonder she started sleeping around. Avis being the robust, resilient woman he always knew she was, crafted her own solution by trying to get what he never gave her. He can’t lie and say he wasn’t happy that she was only successful in seeking the physical intimacy and not the emotional intimacy. If she had left him for another man, he would have regretted it. He doesn’t think it would have been immediately obvious but given time without her, he would have regretted it.**

**And she said she had loved him. With all of her heart. That she still wanted him. Wanted every part of him. She had been so matter of fact, so raw. She had said that she had loved their repertoire from the last week. He had to admit, so had he. She had reminded him what he has been missing all of these years. Reminded him of how good it was in the early years, before he became studio head, before he neglected her.**

**She had said that she had started to forgive him for everything until this morning. He can’t believe he acted that way this morning. All because he read a fuckin’ book that was so similar to their situation, raising ancient anger, bitterness, and jealousy that he thought he had let go long ago. He had to explain to her why he had acted that way. She had said that if he was going to continue to act this way, that if he went back to the way he was, she was going to have to review her life. Did that mean she was going to leave him? Would she leave him if he went back to that way?**

**How could he promise he would never act that way again when he didn’t even realise he did it the first time around? The thought of her leaving panicked him. She couldn’t leave. He needed her. Yes, this heart attack had put a serious inhibition on him, but she was the one who was there for him. She had gone to all the trouble to make his life simpler. Not even in the last few days, but ever since he had known her. She could have made his life miserable with the cheating, but instead she had just gone out and done her own thing. Not disrupting his life as she had every right to do so when she had first found out. She was so hurt, and he could see that.**

**He had a lot of work to do to convince her that he didn’t want to hurt her anymore, that he wanted to rectify what wrongs he had committed in the past. That he still loved her wholeheartedly. That she had reminded him of that. That having this heart attack had had such an impact on him and he didn’t want to leave this world being that man. He was glad he had a second chance to try and be a better person. He had to speak to her though, and how was he supposed to do that when she wouldn’t speak to him. He would need to follow her lead. He had hurt her so much already; he couldn’t force her to talk when she wasn’t ready to. He couldn’t risk her walking out. But he had to explain things. He had to tell her he chooses her.**

Each time the door opened; his heart had surged. He was both panicked and yet excited at the prospect of seeing her. However, almost every time it was Gertie bringing him his newspapers, breakfast, lunch, tea, checking on him, bringing towels. **He had forgotten he had asked her to shower until she had screamed that she would still help him. He would tell her as soon as she came upstairs to forget it. He wasn’t going to make her do that when she was so upset with him.**

In the mid-afternoon, about 10 minutes after Gertie had come to check on him, the door had opened. He had hoped it was her, but instead it was Claire. She had come in excitably, bubbly. He had seen a change in her from before his heart attack. **She seemed kinder, warmer now.** She had told him yesterday that she wasn’t allowed to talk about the studio but was allowed to tell her that she had been given a part in a movie. **It seemed that being an actress did agree with her. It seemed he and Avis were wrong about her. She seemed to be thriving. He was happy to see that.**

Today, she excitedly discussed filming her first scene. He had remained silent and let her talk and talk. **When she was like this, he could see Avis in her when she was most on form. He wondered if this is what Avis would have been like if she had been given the opportunity to become an actress.** She had seemed sceptical of his silence. He had attempted a weak smile and polite conversation, but with all of the thoughts that had emerged since speaking with Avis this morning, he just didn’t have the heart to match her excitability. Gertie had entered with a tray for Ace, summoning Claire downstairs for dinner with Avis. **One plate.** **It looked as though he would need to wait a little longer to see Avis then.**

Gertie had entered an hour later with a stool. She had explained that Mrs Amberg had asked her to bring it upstairs and place it in the shower. **Damn, she still wanted to go ahead with the shower then.** She had told him that Mrs Amberg had planned on arriving shortly as she took his tray and exited the room. **Oh, he was nervous now. Knowing that she was imminent made him more afraid. He was so afraid of fucking it up. Come on, Ace. Just get it done**.

***

She walks up the staircase. _Still feels a little tipsy but not bad enough that she’s not coherent. She still isn’t ready to talk about it_. _She’s too afraid of his answer to her ultimatum. She’s too afraid of the consequences. She decides that she is going to have to use her old faithful formidable character again to get through this shower. Try and ignore everything that happened to get through this now._ She gets to the door of the bedroom, hesitates. _All right, honey. Chin up, shoulders back, tits out. Let’s get it over with._

She turns the door handle firmly, opening it, entering confidently, shutting it behind her. She looks over to him. _He looks like a deer in the headlights_. **There she is.**

“Hi,” is all he can manage weakly.

“Hello,” she forces, looking at him briefly, then walks towards her vanity, noticing a lamp lying on the floor across the room, next to the book he had been reading that morning. _Strange._ She ignores it, sitting at her vanity and begins removing her jewellery.

**How does he not know what to say? He had so many thoughts earlier. How do you even start it?**

_She was so busy channelling her persona and making herself look busy that she didn’t have the time to consider making conversation._

“How are you feeling?” He could feel himself fidgeting his hands, watching her face in the vanity mirror. He could see how severe she was facially. _He sounded nervous. It made her nervous. What if he was too afraid to give her the bad news. She felt sick._

“Fine. I was thinking about the shower arrangement. Thought that we could…,” she starts firmly, changing the subject. She wouldn’t give him the opportunity to talk.

“Avis, forget the shower. It was a ridiculous thing to ask. We should talk about this morning,” he says with growing confidence.

She pauses taking her bracelet off, looks down at the vanity table, closes her eyes.

“Please, Ace,” she starts quietly after a long pause. “I can’t just now. I just can’t”. **He can hear she’s getting emotional. Can see the hurt on her face now, her hunched shoulders. He doesn’t want to upset her again.**

“All right. All right, whatever you want to do is alright with me.” His voice is gentle, attempting to comfort her.

She sighs then. _Relieved she could delay the conversation._ She faces upward again with her eyes closed. Opens them to remove the bracelet. **He still watches every move of her face in the vanity mirror, trying to gauge anything he can from it. Sees her moving her face back to sternness. He knows she’s trying to compose herself.**

“All right well I was thinking about it…,” she continues as she fights with the clasp on the bracelet, “… and I think the best way to do this is for me to change into a bathing suit and come into the shower with you to support you.” She doesn’t pause to give him the chance to approve. “So, I got Gertie to bring up her stepping stool. That will be better for you to sit on so that you aren’t standing up too long and exerting yourself. So, we will get you into the bathroom slowly, sit you on the toilet for a rest, get you undressed… do you want a full shower?” She looks up into the mirror, making eye contact with him, waiting for a response. He looks confused.

“Like full…” She reiterates, gesturing her head downwards whilst opening her eyes wide, as if to point to his lower body. **Oh! She means does she want him to go naked.**

“I can wear a swimsuit also and manoeuvre around it so it’s more comfortable for you,” he offers.

“I don’t care either way. We are going to have to face this eventually. Putting swimming shorts on you is going to just be more work to put them on and off, and I will see everything at one point either way so it’s up to you,” she shoots back very blasé. **He is surprised at how cold she is. It is some difference to yesterday when all she did was flirt our way out of the awkwardness of the situation. Now it felt like she was his nurse.**

“Well I don’t want to create more work for you and I’m not embarrassed as long as you aren’t, so we will go with whatever you want,” he offers again, attempting to be as agreeable as possible.

She shrugs her shoulders and stands, “fine”.

She makes her way over to her drawers, opening one and rifling through for what he assumes is her bathing suit.

“Okey, so we will get you fully undressed and then walk you into the shower and get you seated. I will then come in and we will get you washed down. Get you up, walk you back to the toilet. Get you dried off, into your pyjamas, and then walk you back into here.”

As she rhymes off the plan, she finds the bathing suit and throws it onto the bed. She further walks over to his dresser, seeking a new pair of pyjamas which she takes into the bathroom immediately. He hears her banging around in the en suite. She is placing everything out, so this goes simply. She sits the pyjamas on the sink next to the toilet, a towel onto the floor in front of the shower. She hangs three other towels side by side on the railing next to the shower: one for him, one for her, one to spare. She ensures the stool is sturdy in the shower. She looks at the dimensions, stands in it for a moment. _Yeah, she thought this would work._

She walks back into the bedroom, silently, and sits at her vanity. She pulls a scarf out of a drawer in the vanity and begins wrapping it around her hair to protect it from any water. She is beginning to pin it as he makes conversation.

“How was your day then? Did you sort the situation out with the producer?” He knows he isn’t allowed to know about the studio, and to be honest, he doesn’t even care about the answer. He just can’t stand the silence.

She rises now, her hair perfectly covered apart from a few front curls and walks towards the chaise lounge.

“Yeah, I got it all sorted out,” she says as she slips out of her shoes. He watches her drop a few inches in height as he watches her at the end of the bed.

**He forgets how small, how petite she is. He always loved to watch her dress, and undress. He was fascinated by the procedure a woman went through when doing it. All the things they had to do. All the pins here, clips there. The layers that were attached to it.**

“Oh, that’s good,” he nods smiling.

Her face however is unmoved as she looks at the wall behind the bed, reaching one arm above her head, bending it behind her shoulder to locate the zip at the top of her dress with her hand.

**Surely… she isn’t…**

He sees her get a hold of it and move it partially down. Watches as she changes the angle of her arm from above her shoulder to now around her side, behind her back as she locates the zip again moving it down the rest of the way. Her satin pink dress begins to drop from her shoulders, and she pulls at the cuffs of her sleeves to remove the arms now.

**He can’t take his eyes off her. He knows he should. She has changed in the bathroom when he has been present for so long now. He doesn’t know why she’s suddenly so comfortable.**

She moves the dress down further revealing a strapless black lace and satin corselette, enhancing her very ample cleavage. She grabs the dress at the waist, further pushing it down past her hips and letting it fall to the ground, kicking it to the side. There she stands in that provocative corselette which is hugging every single inviting curve and having just revealed nude silk stockings being held up by suspenders from the corselette.

**He couldn’t help the reaction he had. This always did something to him. No matter if it was 22 years ago or now. Every single time she casually undressed or walked around in her underwear, he always got a raging hard on.**

She had not even noticed him at all. She had been too busy getting to work. She lifted her left leg onto the chaise lounge, leaning downwards, giving him an even better view, as she moved to each clip around her left thigh to release the stocking.

**This was becoming too much, he needed to calm down. He needed a distraction.**

“That’s great, so was Dick happy then?” He rolled his eyes at his choice of words. **Yeah, good one, Ace. Talking about if Dick was happy is really going to make you forget your growing happy dick, you fuckin’ imbecile.**

She finally releases the last clip on her left thigh and starts rolling the stocking down her shapely leg.

“Yeah, he’s fine now. Just needed to…,” she looks up at him now. Seeing him staring at her wide eyed. _He looks desperate, lustful, embarrassed._ She looks puzzled. _It’s the damned underwear. He always used to get like this. Ravenous. She used to deliberately drive him crazy with it. She had completely forgotten herself. Convinced herself so much to ignore him, that she actually forgot she was undressing in front of him._

“… sort it all out,” she says as she finally removes the stocking. She is embarrassed now. Realises how on display she is. She quickly picks up the bathing suit and walks towards the bathroom.

“I’m just going to go get changed,” she mumbles as she walks and enters without fully closing the door. _My god what was she thinking_.

**Fuck, that was intense.** He breathed a sigh of relief. **Whilst he enjoyed the show most of the time, the last thing he wanted was to upset her.** He can hear her moving around in there.

She walks out after a few minutes. **He thinks she looks just as divine in her bathing suit. A chocolate brown, with white piping, matching her complexion and scarf perfectly. God, he desired her, and it was doing nothing to abate his problem down South.**

 _She’s embarrassed again standing in front of him in her bathing suit. She has no idea why. She is quite content with her body. Yes, she isn’t the same as when she was 20, but she has a good figure for her age. And she isn’t fat… She has worn a bathing suit at plenty a pool party, not having cared so why was she nervous now? She can’t think of that now. They have enough to be getting on with_.

“All right, same procedure as yesterday more or less. I think you should roll yourself over to my side of the bed. No point in walking all the way around the bed and getting exerted for nothing,” she says as she crawls up onto the bed and attempts to pull the covers back.

He does as she says and rolls towards her. He sits himself up a little. _He was improving. She would give him that._ She stood close to his head, as he turned himself around, swinging his legs to the side. She like yesterday grabbed his legs, steering them towards her as she sat on the bed next to him. He was sitting upright now with his legs over the side of the bed.

“All right?” she asked, looking at him when he was a little breathless.

“Yeah,” he huffed out.

“All right, this time I think you should just sling your arm over my shoulder, and I will support your back and we will walk side by side into the bathroom. I don’t think what we did yesterday would help with walking.” She said as she moved her arm under his, across his upper back, encouraging his arm to go around her shoulder.

**He hated that they were fighting and that touching her was so enjoyable but could not be celebrated.**

_God, him having his arm around her. For a second she imagines this was different circumstances and that he was doing this because he was comforting her. That she could tilt her head onto his chest and cuddle in. Enough._

“On the count of three, we push up, you put all your weight on me, okay?” she says looking straight ahead.

“Okey,” he responds. **There is no way he’s putting all of his weight on her.**

“1… 2… 3…,” she shouts as they both push up. Both of them are straining from the difficulty. They make it up, standing steady, and start walking slowly.

“Okay, to the bathroom, Ace. Just a step at a time. There’s no rush,” she says straining through gritted teeth. _This wasn’t easy._

**He feels ridiculous. That he needs all this help. That she needs to give him it. That he’s so heavy, she’s struggling to support him. What an embarrassment.**

As they cross the threshold to the bathroom, she can hear his breathing growing more ragged.

“We’re almost there, Ace! Just a few more steps,” she says as she steers him across to the toilet. **Embarrassing.** When they reach the toilet, they take a few steps to turn around so that he can plunk down onto it. They are both breathing heavier now. He looks down, quite dejected. _That went a lot smoother than she thought it would. He’s obviously embarrassed. She feels bad for him. It can’t be easy._

“That went well… You just take a moment to catch your breath. Start unbuttoning your shirt if you want…” she says as she walks over to turn on the shower. Touching her hand past the shower curtain to the water, to ensure she gets an appropriate temperature. She looks back to him as he still stares at the floor, unbuttoning the shirt, breathing a little easier now. She walks back over to him and stands directly in front of him. Places a hand on his shoulder to get his attention.

“You all right?” she frowns at him.

He looks up at her, into her eyes. **This is the most receptive she has been to him today. My god. Is this pity?! He absolutely did not want pity.**

“Yes, I’m fine. Let’s get on with it,” he says sternly, attempting to remove the unbuttoned shirt now. She leans over to help slip it off.

“We will get your pants at the shower entrance,” she says soberly.

He simply nods, looking back at the floor.

“Okay, let’s go. On three,” she says as she bends down, putting her arm back underneath his, across his back, as he puts his across her shoulder.

“1… 2… 3…,” she shouts as they both push up. He gives a great groan again, and she looks worriedly up at him. He is grimacing, clearly struggling with this. They walk steadily yet slowly to the shower entrance and when they get there, she reaches to pull back the shower curtain.

They both pause, awkwardly standing in silence.

 **He knows what’s coming,** so reaches his free hand down to start pulling at the band at right side of his waist, pushing down. She reaches her free hand around to the left side to help and start pushing down. Being silk they easily fall down to a pool on the floor. _She makes a point of staring at the ceiling, to let him know she isn’t looking._

He is growing irritable at this whole thing. **He wishes he never asked for a fuckin’ shower.**

They take another step to the shower. She, still staring at the ceiling, says, “now remember to take a big step into the shower. Make sure you don’t slip.” He moves to make a step and puts his right foot into the shower, ensuring that he had a full grip.

She is still staring at the ceiling.

“Are you in? Can we take another step?”

He was growing frustrated. **This was getting fuckin’ ridiculous. So now he had to be her eyes now?**

“Just fucking look, Avis! You’ve seen it before! This is just stupid now! I’m not going to explain everything my fuckin’ feet do.” She looks towards him now, having been staring at the ceiling.

_Fine._

She looks down immediately to see how far his foot has got into the shower. However, upon looking down she sees his huge erection. _Again? Is this a joke?_

She looks back up at him, head retracted, taken aback.

“Seriously? You have another hard on?” She says, almost annoyed. 

“Really?! You want to talk about that NOW? Please forgive me for the human physical reaction I had to my WIFE in her lacy underwear, basically doing a fucking strip tease for me! Give me a fuckin’ break, Avis,” he shouts defensively, still clinging onto her upper back and the wall now.

“I wasn’t doing a fucking strip tease…” she interrupts herself with a growl, “… look it doesn’t fucking matter.” She looks back down at his feet again, “What matters is you getting in this fucking shower and sitting your ass down on that stool, so let’s go.” She moves forward now, encouraging him to step up his other foot into the shower with her. This time being unable to make a huge turn around. She encourages him to face her.

“Put your other hand around my neck and turn towards me,” she says looking into his eyes now, trying to grasp his elbows so that she can support him under his arms. She looks around both sides of him to ensure that the stool is in place.

“Okey, sit down.” He takes a seat with exasperation. He’s breathing heavily again, closes his eyes, runs his hand through his hair as the water hits his head and face. She presses back against the tile walls for a moment, still extremely close to him, taking a few deep breaths, staring at the ceiling.

 _Her intention is to try to keep this headscarf out of the water._ _It’s Hermès after all. Another gift from him. So, the side lines suit her fine. This shower is just big enough for the both of us and a stool. Thank God._

When she looks back down, she can see him facing down, dejected, his chest still heaving. She takes a glance at his member again. She huffs, her eyes wide in surprise. _Jesus Christ. What does he have, the libido of a 20-year-old? Well she still did she supposed, why couldn’t he? And it’s because of her? Well that’s a confidence boost._

**He had sat there attempting to catch his breath. He was embarrassed about this whole thing. Would never do it again. He didn’t care if he grew mould on his back, he wasn’t going through this again. He felt like such a fucking invalid. He also felt embarrassed by the hard on. He knew he couldn’t exactly help it, but considering they were in the middle of a huge fuckin’ fight and she had been so disgusted by it, he couldn’t help feeling ashamed. He felt like a dirty schoolboy, peeping on the girl next door. But she was his wife! There were worse things than being turned on by your own wife!**

_Okay, back to business Avis._

“All right. Shampoo,” she reaches behind her and grabs the shampoo. She pours some into her hand and still at his side, hesitates a moment as she moves her hands towards him. “Move your head to the side a second, out of the water.” As he does, she goes ahead and moves her hands to his head, spreading the shampoo to the sides where there is hair. _She remembers when he had much more hair than this. He had been paranoid when he started losing it 10 years ago. He had thought he looked unattractive, older. She thought he suited it. He looked quite distinguished._

She lathers up the shampoo around his head, massaging it into the sides of his skull, moving down the base of his skull ensuring she fully massaged it in, scraping her nails against his scalp. _This was the most intimate thing they had done in years. This was probably more intimate than the last few times they had had sex, which was at least three years ago now._

**Whatever she was doing, he hopes she never stops. This is the most relaxed he has felt since he had his heart attack. Simply having her touch. Having this intimacy was heaven. It was almost orgasmic. He just wanted to wrap his arms around her, letting her do this forever.**

Eventually she draws back, steers him back under the water, placing her hands back into his hair to remove all of the shampoo. She then grabs a bar of soap when all of shampoo is gone. Lathers her hands up before she passes it to him.

“Lean back a bit out of the water. I will get your back, shoulders, and arms, if you want to try and work on the rest. I will get whatever else you can’t reach.”

She starts quickly rubbing across his back, again using her nails and tips to fully massage the soap into his body. _She forgets what a large force he is. How broad he is. She inspects him as she rubs the soap across his shoulders. Remembers how she used to have to reach up to do this in their earlier years. How getting him to turn around in a shower was always a nightmare because he didn’t want to take his hands off her. How she would make up for it by placing a kiss directly into the middle of his back to remind him that she loved him. It wasn’t like that now; she thinks as she passes the spot on his spine she always used to kiss._

**He tactfully starts on his chest, then thighs, softly approaches his member so as not to cause an accident, embarrassing them both. Whatever she is doing, he doesn’t want her to stop. This is even better than whatever she did to his scalp. Having her hands over his wet body, he thinks back to the times in the first half of their marriage when this was a norm. When they would often shower together. When they would jump in with each other just to save water, spend a little more time together, have a little more intimacy, even to up their intimacy. Sex in the shower is something he apparently only reserved for Avis. Had never done it with anyone else now he thought of it. She had been so wild and carefree then. It wasn’t about sex most of the time though, they would wash one another. Care for each other. And here they were again, in very different circumstances, doing the same. She was cleaning him because he had become old, become ill. They were both so much older now, facing the later years of their lives. He could feel hot tears now. Thank fuck he was in the shower. Here she was caring for him still, years later. He needed her. Loved her with every inch of his being.**

He leans down now, the water hitting his back, as he leans to his lower legs and feet. She wipes at his back and shoulders to remove any of the lather that is already there. Once it is all wiped away, he sits back up and tilts his head back into the water. She comes to the front of him, swipes at his chest and arms to ensure that all of the water is getting the soap off.

“All right?” she asks with a small smile. _Her nostalgia_ _has softened her. He seems calmer now too._

“Yeah. Feels much better now to be clean.”

“Good. Do you want to stay in longer or should I get the towel?”

“Nah, I’m done here.”

“All right,” she moves around him to get the towel, turning off the shower on the way. She stands directly in front of him now holding it.

“Same procedure. I’m going to come under your back to get you to stand, you get your arms on my upper back. Then I will wrap the towel around your hips and move under your arm so we can walk back to the toilet. Okey?”

“Yip,” he nods.

She gets herself into position, crouching in front of him, hands under his arms and around his back holding the towel out, a corner in each hand, as he places his around her upper back.

“1… 2… 3…” she shouts as they both push up. As he rises, groaning, she waits until he is steady to make her move to put the towel around his waist. As she looks down to move the towel in place in front of him, she sees his erection again. _How has it not even remotely dissipated?_ She rolls her eyes to herself. She tucks it into place as he still clings to her shoulders, his breathing accelerating a bit. She quickly moves to his side, moving her arm across his back, taking the first step to walk so that he will follow.

They make their way across the room slowly again. Step by step. Moving around so he can drop to the toilet seat again. He’s breathing heavier.

“Nearly there, Ace! Nearly there. Just need to get you dried up, pyjamas on and back into the bedroom. The hardest bit is over.”

 **He does not feel alleviated by that** , still attempting to catch his breath.

She grabs a towel to wrap it around herself. _No point in drying him so he can get wet leaning against me._ She takes the other and quickly starts rubbing at Ace’s shoulders, chest, back, hair, whilst he sits there still panting.

 _The panting is worrying her. She starts moving faster so that she can get him back into bed quicker._ She walks over to his pyjamas by the sink when she is satisfied he is dry and begins unbuttoning the top.

She moves to him to help his arms into the shirt and gathers it around him straight.

“Do you want to start buttoning that whilst I start on the pants?”

He does not respond. Just does as she says.

She then bends down in front of him on her knees, ruffling up each of the legs as she had done yesterday and grabs his left foot, starting to shimmy the clothing up his leg to his knee. The toilet is thankfully smaller and less inhibiting, making it easier to move the pant leg up to his thigh herself, trapping it with the tight tuck of the towel. She starts on the next leg, same procedure. She sits back on her heels now, seeing he has finished buttoning up his shirt. 

“Okey, let’s go,” she declares as she stands. She doesn’t need to explain the procedure to him now. It’s becoming old hat. They just get into the position.

“One… Two… Three…”

She pulls him up this time, as he pushes his legs as hard as he can, trying to hide the panting. He becomes steady but his breathing is increasing.

“Remember to hold onto my shoulders still, all right?”

He nods as she quickly bends, same as before, running her hands down his sides strongly, wanting to still support him. Her face is by his left hip as she grabs one side of the pyjamas and feels around his right knee for the other side. When she has it, she flies the pants upward, attempting to untuck the towel on the way so it falls around him, until she gets the band around his waist and the towel gone. _Thank god, it’s over. **Why can’t he catch his breath?**_

She quickly clasps her hands at his waist to make sure she has him and he is steady. His arms still encasing her upper back as he pants strongly.

“All right, sit back down now, okey?” she instructs. _She is growing increasingly worried about him. Why is the breathing not calming?_

“No,” he firmly states breathily. _What?_ She’s shocked.

“No, let’s get this over with. I’m up now. What’s the point in sitting back down to get back up? Let’s just do it.” _She didn’t feel right about this. His breathing was too ragged._ **There was no way he was prolonging this. He would get through it. He had to stop being such a wimp. It was no more than 10 steps. He could manage another 10 steps.**

“Ace, I think…” she starts worried.

“Please, let’s just get this over with…” he begs, angrily interrupting her. _He doesn’t seem all right, but he seems too desperate to just get back to bed._

“Ok, come on,” she says as she lets go to move around beside him, still clinging on to his back, starting to lead him in the walk back to the bed. **He’s glad she agrees, he just wants this over with.**

_They move slowly, his breathing sounds worse._

**He doesn’t feel right. The breathing is getting worse. Maybe she was right. Maybe he should have waited. He is only maybe five steps away. He can make it now. If he just moved a little faster, he would be there in no time.**

_He seems to be getting more anxious, more desperate to reach the bed._ He tries to start moving quicker to the bed, seeing his goal so close in sight. However, this was a bad move.

“Slow down, Ace,” she says desperately, still grasping onto him as she tries to follow this new pace he has set.

The breathing hit its peak. **He’s feeling light-headed. Was he going to faint? Is he having another heart attack? He felt like his eyes were rolling into the back of his head. He couldn’t get the oxygen into his body. He was only a step away, he could lunge so he didn’t hit the floor.**

He lunges a step away and falls forward onto the bed, his side hitting it, catching him.

She gasps, panicked, falling slightly with him, trying to push all her weight against him to ensure she propels him fully to the bed and he doesn’t hit the ground. When she is certain he is on the bed, she stands up and sees he is doubled over breathing heavier and heavier, beginning to hyperventilate. **He can’t breathe. He can’t breathe. If he could just get some fresh air. Clear his lungs, it would be fine.**

She panics. “Ace! Ace!”

She grabs his shoulders with her hands, standing in front of him, to get him to look at her.

“Ace! Breathe honey! Breathe!” He looks up at her. Registers her anxiety on her face. Sees her lips moving but can’t register her words until a second later.

“I… can’t…breathe!” He exclaims, a breath punctuating each word. **He’s panicking. He doesn’t feel like he can get breath to his lungs.** “I… can’t breathe… Avis!”

“Don’t talk, darling. Just concentrate on breathing, okay?” She’s trying to sound calm, but she doesn’t think it’s working.

“Is your chest sore? Is anything tight?” she shouts to him. But he shakes his head, still hyperventilating.

_Shit! What is she supposed to do? She looks around from side to side, still grasping his shoulders. She doesn’t know how to fix this. Is he having a heart attack? She just got him back, she can’t lose him now. It’s not going to happen. Should she call an ambulance? No, he’s not tight in his chest or arms. He’s over-exerted himself._

She thinks and thinks to herself, trying to come up with a solution as she looks wide eyed at him. _Think, Avis. Okay. Hyperventilating. Who do I know that has done that? Uhm… Who? Claire! She used to have anxiety attacks when she was a kid. Had odd nightmares. Would wake up screaming and shouting. Wouldn’t calm down until I held her. Even after the screaming and shouting, Claire would hyperventilate into her chest until she calmed down. A doctor said that was a good tactic, that the person feels the breathing of another person and copies it. THERE WE GO!_

She leans forward as she tightens her grasp his shoulders, pulling his whole upper body toward hers. She slams his head into her chest, placing his ear bang in the middle, next to her heart. She puts her arms around his shoulders, rubs his back, his neck, kisses his head. She feels his arms come around her waist, grabbing her tightly, desperately, pushing his face harder into her chest, pushing away the towel that was wrapped around her to he can feel her.

**He’s home. He needs to feel like she’s real. He needs to feel something solid. Needs to feel alive. Needs to feel his Avis. Needs to hear her heartbeat. He doesn't want to die. Especially not alone. If this is him dying then this is where he wants to die, with his arms wrapped around her. He doesn’t want to let her go.**

“Listen, Ace, baby, listen to me, okay? I need you to try and breathe, honey, okay? Feel my chest going up and down and try to follow it. Try and match it, okay? Just try and take deep breaths.” She’s panicked herself, has to work on not hyperventilating herself. She closes her eyes and takes a huge deep breath. _In for three, out for three._ _How her mother had always told her to calm herself when she was angry and said something she usually regretted._

She can feel his body shuddering, can feel his tears on her chest. He is still breathing heavily, but it’s definitely getting better. _Her heart breaks for him._ **What if he died now? He never got to tell her all the things he wanted to.**

She just keeps whispering to him.

“It’s okay, darling. We just took it a little bit too far. It’s okay. You’re okay. You’re here. You’re not going anywhere. Just keep breathing. Keep following my chest moving, okay?” She could feel herself becoming calmer as he does. She continues to rub soothing circles on his back, kisses his head still, places her cheek onto his head whilst she talks. 

"You’re ok. I’m here. I won’t let anything happen to you.” _She can feel him clutching her back each time she speaks._ **He is desperate to feel her, feel that she is real, that he is still here.**

He mumbles something into her chest. She moves her head up a bit to look at him, his head still buried in her chest stifling his speech so she cannot understand what he says. 

“What, darling?” She asks worried.

He moves his head back a bit, his head still on her chest but so his mouth isn’t covered, still breathing heavy. “I love- you. I’m sorry-. Please don’t- leave-.” **He is begging. Will happily beg for the rest of his life.**

Once she registers it, she closes her eyes to stop the immediate tears spilling, which they do anyway. She clutches him tighter, pushes his head deeper into her chest, her head tighter onto the top of his, one hand on his shoulder, one hand on the nape of his neck, crushing him.

“I’m not going anywhere”.


	7. Pillow Talk

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I might end up a little slower now because I had only jotted down up until this point, but I think I might be able to take it further. Just might mean the pace slows a little. 
> 
> Thoughts of Avis in italics.  
> Thoughts of Ace in bold.

_She hadn’t expected him to say that. Hadn’t expected that revelation. Maybe he was merely saying it because he was panicking. People have said stranger things when panicking and believing they were facing death. It didn’t mean he wanted her to stay forever. Maybe he had just meant don’t leave now, not don’t leave forever? This wasn’t the time to be thinking of that, he needed her now._

**He didn’t believe her. She had said she was going to have to consider if he didn’t change. She had wanted to leave him before. Had told that boy! What would he do if she went? Who would stay with him if she left? He didn’t want anyone to stay with him if she left. He may as well just die now because he didn’t want that life.**

She continues to stroke his head, tears pouring down her face, her trying to swipe them away. _Was this because of what he had said, from his attack, or just all the emotions toppling down on her?_

“Just try and catch your breath, all right? I’m right here. Not going anywhere,” she repeated.

**She didn’t get it. Not, don’t leave now! Not that he wanted her to go now either…**

He clings to her tighter. “No Avis-, Don’t leave- ever-. Stay-. There is so much-, I wanted to say-, but you wouldn’t-“.

_My god, he did mean don’t leave forever._

“Shh, shh, shh. Calm down. It’s all right. We can talk about everything later. I’m not going to leave.” She continued to stroke his head. _At least he was getting more words out now. His breathing seemed better. She couldn’t have him getting riled up again. But the relief she was feeling at his words was colossal._ “Don’t think about anything like that right now. We will talk later. You focus on your breathing on staying calm, all right?”

He simply nods into her chest. She kisses his head again.

When his breathing begins to even out after fifteen minutes, he seems so docile she thinks he may be asleep. She draws her head back a bit now to look at him. His eyes are closed, and he seems more peaceful.

“Feeling a bit better now?”

He nods into her chest again, still not opening his eyes, “yeah.”

She smiles, _he was just like a child, but weren’t we all to an extent when we were feeling vulnerable?_

“Good… I think we should call the doctor,” she says as she soothes his head again. He begins to pull his head back for the first time from her chest in protest, his hands now leaving her back to grasp her hips. She quickly begins to explain, her hands still resting on his shoulders, “I don’t think there is anything to worry about! I think you just overexerted yourself. But it’s just to give you a once over to make sure. Just to be on the safe side!” She finishes looking worriedly down into his eyes, bringing a hand up to his cheek, stroking it softly with her thumb.

He remains seated, looks up into her eyes, protesting, “no, Avis. I’m fine now. I think I just took it too far. I don’t want to see Saul.”

_She wasn’t comfortable with this. She hadn’t been comfortable last time with his attempting to go directly into the bedroom when he was breathing so heavily and look what happened when she had agreed to that! But he was quite adamant. She would give it an hour, make sure there was no changes, that he was still breathing all right. One small change and fuck the doctor, she was calling an ambulance._

**She was warring with her thoughts right now. He could see it in her face. Her eyes were worried. She was biting the inside of her mouth. But he felt fine now. He didn’t need a doctor poking and prodding him.**

“All right, but on one condition?” He raises his eyebrows, inviting it. “You need to lie down and go to sleep. You have just exerted yourself hugely, and you will have exhausted your body from it. You need to at least attempt to recover from that.” She is firm. _This isn’t up for question. If he wants to fight her on that, she will haul is ass to the hospital right now. She isn’t playing around with his health. Not today._

“Fine.” **He agrees. He doesn’t want to upset her further. She is so worried, and he doesn’t want to cause that anymore. He will play ball.**

“Good,” she smiles at him, taps his shoulder with her hands.

“But on one condition…,” he is still firmly holding her hips.

She cocks her eyebrow at him, “go on,” she challenges.

“You need to lie down with me.” He is deadpan. “I’m not quite comfortable to be without you yet.”

_He is so raw just now. Does this mean her really wants her? She is not used to this Ace. Maybe he is willing to change from what he was before and be truthful and straightforward. He is obviously still feeling vulnerable just now. Having to face your own mortality, with distressing breathing attacks like that must be terrifying._

She smiles, clearing her throat and then whispering back, “yeah. Of course…, I just need to change out of my bathing suit.” She finally pulls away from him, and his hands trail down her sides until they hand on his lap.

“Why don’t you lie down on my side of the bed just now and get a head start,” she says as she takes his arm and steers him to begin lying down, bending to help him lift his legs onto the bed. He follows obediently. **Wow, lying back really did make him feel much better. He felt a lot more pressure taken off of him as he took a few deep breaths.**

She pulls the covers up over him, patting them down nicely.

“Do you want a glass of water?”

“No, I’m all right,” he responds already closing his eyes, beginning to relax.

“All right. I won’t be a minute,” she says as she begins to step back from him, watching him nod to her in acknowledgment.

She quickens her pace now, attempting to quietly scurry to her drawers to get a nightgown. She grabs one, not caring which it is. She then hurries quickly to the bathroom. She starts peeling the bathing suit off as she thinks of what he has said.

_He had pleaded with her to not ever leave. He had wanted to speak to her before the shower, but she wouldn’t let him. She wouldn’t let him this morning either when she had rounded on him. Gave him no chance to explain. What if the stress of all of that had catalysed this whole breathing attack? Maybe if she had been kinder or had brought it up calmer. There was no point thinking of all this now. It had happened and she had to think about how to make him more comfortable and care for him now. She loved him, she was his wife, and she would make sure she was there for him._

_Anyway, he said he wanted her to lie down with him, for comfort she supposed. If he were mad at her for earlier, he wouldn’t want her near him. He had told her he loved her. That was the best part. She had waited so many years for him to genuinely tell her that. She could hear that every minute for the rest of her life and never grow tired. In due time, she would find out what he wanted to talk to her about, but for now he had to rest, and she had to ensure there were no changes and a doctor wasn’t needed._

She had changed out of her bathing suit and into her satin dressing gown whilst she had contemplated this. She looks briefly in the mirror. She looks a riot. She removes the headscarf on her head, removes a few pins that she knows will hurt her when she lies down, but otherwise, _she couldn’t give two fucks how she looks. She’s not here to impress, she’s here to comfort._ She quickly runs the faucet, runs her fingers under the cold water, turns it off, and dabs under her swollen eyes to attempt to soothe them. _Okay, Avis. Hurry up._

She strides back into the bedroom, turns off the lamp, looking at his relaxed form, seeing his chest rising and falling. _Still breathing._ Relief washes over her. She paces around the bed to his side so she can prevent disturbing him. She crawls up onto the bed, under the light covers, and moves his big feather pillow nearer to him. She manoeuvres onto her side, facing him, and finally relaxes her head into his pillow. _It smells of him. She feels instant comfort from that, as if she were leaning into his chest._ She closes her eyes, taking a deep breath. She didn’t realise how much her panicked reaction to the attack had exhausted her also.

“Everything all right?” He asks, shocking her from the silence.

“Yeah, are you?” She responds tiredly.

“Yeah. I’m fine.”

There is silence for a moment until she feels him move. She keeps her eyes closed but feel him tapping a few times onto the mattress, and then she feels him take her hand. Her eyes shoot open. There is still a little daylight through the window, so she can make out his silent form moving her hand closer to him as he laces his fingers through her hers and pulls their now joined hands to sit on his chest, over his heart. She looks to his face, but his eyes are still closed. She sees and hears him inhale deeply and let out a huge exhale though. She squeezes his hand firmly, now. _How can simply holding her hand give him such comfort?_ **He squeezes her hand back, glad that she had not slapped it away. He needed to feel her skin, needed to feel her close to him, and where better to feel close to her than over his heart.**

She smiles, her emotion rises, as she closes her eyes softly. _She hasn’t felt so content in years,_ she thinks as she drifts off to sleep.

********

She wakes up later feeling groggy. She has slept hard. Can feel her hand still woven into his. She opens her eyes; the room is pitched black now. She waits a few seconds, allowing her eyes to adjust so she can see. She turns her head slightly upwards and raises her free wrist to look at her watch. _10.45pm. Not as late as she had thought._

She can feel his thumb stroking her hand now.

“What time is it?” She turns her attention back to him upon hearing his calm voice, but cannot make him out,

“Quarter to eleven at night… How long have you been awake?” She delves back into his pillow.

“Earlier than I suspected… Not long,” he speculates, still stroking her hand.

She sighs, closing her eyes again, “how are you feeling?”

“I’m all right. Feel calmer… thanks to you,” his strokes of her hand are becoming more forceful now. “I don’t know what happened back there.” He is quieter now.

“I think you just put a bit too much strain on yourself. Then when you couldn’t catch your breath, you started to panic.” _She has said this before but maybe he hadn’t registered it then since he had been so hyped._

He huffed a little.

“Is this my life now, Avis? Being an invalid. Having panic attacks when I breathe a little too hard? Can’t walk to the fuckin’ bathroom myself? If this is it, then I don’t want it. Don’t want to do it to you or myself. I’m better off dead at that rate.” He doesn’t take his eyes off their joined hands. **He sounds dejected because he is. He doesn’t want to be a patient for the rest of his life. He doesn’t want her to be his nurse.**

She angrily bounces up onto her elbow now, looking directly at him, and squeezes his hand.

“Don’t you say that! Hey, look at me!” He shifts his head towards her.

“Don’t you ever say that! I’m not ready for you to go, so you’re not going! You have been home for two days, Ace. Two fucking days. You have been awake for a week and you are already home, which is a miracle in itself. Don’t you lose hope! It’s too important for you to give up!” She is stern now, her eyes shining.

“I know, Avis… but…” he starts but goes silent.

“No buts! You had a minor, minor mishap. You took it too far when you shouldn’t have. That is the most exertion you have had in months. Once you have had the rest the doctor says you need, you will start on an exercise regimen the doctor agrees with and work up your stamina again. And as for the panic attack. You’re a human! Any human who has just had a brush with death, who feels like they can’t breathe would panic! Hell, the same used to happen to Claire when she was a kid! Remember when she used to have those nightmares? Maybe you don’t, you were at the studio a lot of the time…” **Ouch. Stab to the heart.** “She would wake up going crazy. Even when she was fully awake, she was so panicked, she would breathe heavily just like you did.” She started to stroke his hand with her thumb now.

“Could never catch her breath back. I would just hold her, like I did for you there, soothe her for hours until she calmed back down and fell asleep. It always exhausted her physically and mentally having big attacks like that. The doctor said if it helped then that’s what I had to do. So, try and have a little more hope. It’s going to get better! And I’m am going to be here to remind you it will when you’re feeling like this.” He remained silent. **He had forgotten about all of that. That he had been so absent back then. About the life he had before these last few hours. About the conversation he had to have with her. That he had been so absent back then.**

 _She had to try and cheer him up_.

She put on her best dominant voice, “Ace Amberg, as your wife, I refuse to allow you to give up, because if you think you’re going to give up and drop out on me now, you’ve got another thing coming. You and I both know that I can be demanding and troublesome, so it’s in your best interest to just agree with me now.” She finishes this, giving him a small nudge with her elbow resting on the bed, and a small smile.

He manages a small smile in return for her benefit. **This is it. He needs to do it now. She needs to know.**

“Avis…” he starts but becomes silent and shakes his head looking down.

“What?” She responds smoothly, smiling. Looks at him expectantly.

“I …” He sighs then. **Why can’t he get it out.** She tries to make out his expression. He looks afraid from what she can see. He still remains silent.

“WhaaAat?” she says slightly laughing, shaking their clasped hands to get his attention.

He sighs and shakes his head again. **Is he ready to do this?** _She can’t see his face properly still, is beginning to panic. Fuck this._

She shoots up, unclasping his hand. **Shit.** He looks at her bewildered, as she pushes up onto her knees and reaches across him to reach for the lamp, turning it on so she can see him. She quickly moves back to her original place and sits up straight staring at him strictly. She can see him now. _He looks afraid. Why does he look afraid?_

“What is it, Ace? Tell me! You’re frightening me!”

She doesn’t mean to be so harsh, but she needs to be put out of her misery.

This shocks him out of his silence. He still looks down though, can’t bear to look her in the eye.

“I’m so sorry, Avis…” He is silent again.

_FOR WHAT?! What is he sorry for? For leaving her now that he can breathe normally? For her having to help him? For alcohol causing hangovers? FOR WHAT?! She needs to be calm though. She has seen his panic attacks now and isn’t willing to start another one._

“For… what…?” She says strained.

He pauses briefly.

“For everything, Avis. For being a horrible husband. For being an absent father. For neglecting you. For acting like a child. For having an affair. For sleeping with other women. For the way I acted this morning. For being sick. For you having to care for me. For not listening to you. For everything.”

She is aghast. _She was not expecting all of that._

“It’s-,” she begins, but he cuts her off.

“No.” He pauses, turns to look her in the eye. “Let me get this all out. I need to get it all out…. Please.”

She is softer now, sitting beside him.

“Go ahead,” she encourages.

“I acted like a fuckin’ ass this morning. I know that in reality there is no excuse… but it was all catalysed by that fuckin’ book!”

She pulled a face, taken-aback, confused.

“What book?”

“The book you bought me. A Rage to Live? Turns out it’s about a woman who cheats on her husband, falling for another guy and starting an affair with him. And I know it’s stupid, but it reminded me of us. How I felt when I first found out you were having an affair with that guy from the gas station. It just brought back all the memories… The memories of how enraged I was.” He looked down at his own clasped hands now, feeling stupid. She was shocked. _He was enraged by the affair?_

“I know that I have really no right to be jealous when I had had so many affairs and women myself, but when I first found out about that I was furious. I was so jealous,” he shakes his head to himself, grimacing. “I went around my office slamming shit. Just the thought of you writhing underneath another guy. In the throes of passion and gaining pleasure from it.” His fists clench now. She notices, still aghast.

“It drove me nuts. I broke a lamp throwing it across the room, calling you for everything. Poor Miss Stinson nearly shit a brick when she walked in, seeing me destroy the room. I left the lot without telling anyone I was leaving. Even when they seen me storming to my car, they didn’t ask a thing. There was no way anyone was going to risk what would happen if they got in my way. I drove straight to the gas station Lon told me about.”

_Fucking LON!_

“I wanted to see the guy. Was ready to punch his lights out. Leave him for dead. So, I go there, went in and got my car pumped, got out the car, asked to speak to the owner. Then this strapping, young guy walks out.” He sighs, looking up to the ceiling. “I couldn’t do it. Made up some chat about how he had a great little gas station. Asked if he got a lot of business, said I was looking to invest in one. I don’t know if he knew who I was.”

_He was going to attack Ernie? She was glad he didn’t but she has to admit, just knowing that he had planned to did something to her. Was she turned on? Relieved? Is this what it was to feel genuinely wanted?_

“Why didn’t you?” she asks. _Genuinely curious._ “You had every right to as my husband, so why didn’t you?”

“I’m not sure. Really it probably could have gone either way. He was fit, but I’m bigger, and by how angry I was, I could have possibly destroyed him… But when I came eye to eye with him, I seen that he was a young, good looking guy. He was everything I wasn’t. I couldn’t blame you for going to him instead of me. Then the more I spoke to him, I realised he was very charming, very witty. It just confirmed it. He would be exactly what any woman would want, including you.”

He looks down, very vulnerably. _He thought that Ernie was better than him? Sure, Ernie was a gem. Good in bed, a sweet-talker. But Ernie was a ladies man… and swung for the other side at times also from what she had heard. He was a good time then, a good friend now, but not someone you would want to be with forever._

“I was thinking about it today. I was trying to figure out why I didn’t come after you then, like you had wanted me to. I don’t have a reason, Avis. I don’t know if it was because I thought you wanted him over me. Or that I was feeling insecure next to that guy. Or…“, he hesitates now, “…and I want to be truthful with you now… I had Jeanne sitting on the other side of a phone call begging to be called, begging to dote on me, who regularly told me she wanted me, and I wanted to go to someone who made me feel like I was the only person she wanted.”

 _Oft, that had been frank._ He looks up at her now.

“I know now that you felt differently then but I didn’t know that then… It might have just been convenience, or it was too much of a kick to my ego, or just wanting to not think about it. I don’t know. What I do know is that things have been different over the past week and I have loved it too. Reading that book took me back to that time when I was incessantly jealous of just the thought of another man’s hands on you, and it was enough to put me in that mood, to speak to you the way I did, and to throw that book across the room to get it so far away from me that Mars would be too close.”

She just nods at him. _That’s why the lamp was broken. She could understand that. It had taken her a long time to figure out herself that she had been wildly jealous of all those other women, that she could easily fly into a rage, firing many a hired help at just the thought of it._

“But as for my cheating...” he gives a huge huff now. “I’m so sorry, Avis.” Her eyes start to fill up, she looks to the ceiling. _She had waited too long for this. Told herself it would never happen. Had spent too many evenings in the early years of the affair blaming herself. Had suppressed the feelings on it for so long that it was raw to bring them back._ He looks around at her now, seeing her moving her head.

“Honey, it was nothing to do with you. Nothing, babe.” His heart brakes seeing her like this.

 _Babe._ Letting out a laugh and gasp simultaneously, her heart clenches. _She had waited years to hear that. Had not been prepared for the relief she felt, knowing it wasn’t her._ She looks back down at him, into his eyes, shedding all of her tears.

“It was me, honey. I was thinking about it today. I’ve never thought about it before today. I have never been forced to think about it. But I realised Avis, you did absolutely everything right. It was me who changed first. I just didn’t see what was right in front of my face. I thought back to it and remembered about how you used to always come by the studio when I first became the head?” _He remembered that. Did he not realise why she was doing that at the time?_

He looks her in the eye, he isn’t going to hide away from the truth anymore. If this is what he has to do to keep her, that’s what he will do.

“You would come by and sat and listened to my bullshit. About all the contracts and actors who wouldn’t sign their god damned contracts! And you would come to the premieres and laugh convincingly at the shitty jokes of the clients. And you would pay attention to me, Avis. Which I didn't return to you. You would wait up for me, wake up to have breakfast with me, comfort me, bring me gifts, and healthy food. And I was a fuckin’ jerk, Avis. I didn’t notice it at all.”

He pauses now. _She hadn’t expected him to realise all of that. He really had been thinking a lot in her absence. How had he not realised it at the time. Everything she did back then was for him. For her love of him._

“I think I was just so fucking self-involved when I became the studio head, Avis. I just couldn’t see anyone but myself. It wasn’t you, honey. You weren’t unattractive, or old, or didn’t fulfil my needs in bed. Hell, you fulfilled them better than every woman I’ve been with since. You were a good wife. You still are a brilliant wife! I’ve always known you were intelligent, focused, resourceful, and just well, well brilliant, Avis. That’s why I put you in charge of the finances and the studio. I knew you could do it if it came down to it. Had you been born a guy, you would have run this town, and run it better than I ever could. And you likely have. From the little I know, the fact that Lon didn’t come bursting into my room on day one to tell me the studio had burned to the ground, and the fact that he hates you says a lot. You must be taking some risks that Lon is afraid of, because he hates change,” he chuckles now. She smiles, still tear stained, and looks down, stroking the mattress sheet. She looks up again when he begins talking.

“I don’t know why I did it, Avis. It started a few months after I became the head. It’s no excuse, but I think I was struggling. I was at the studio every day and night. I spent such long hours there; I was consistently exhausted. You might not believe it, but I had girls throwing themselves at me for years before hand, from the start of our marriage even.” She opens her eyes widely at this. _He had told her about some girls in the beginning of the marriage, when they had been honest with each other, when he had been trying to tease her that he was still a catch and trying to compliment her that she was still more ravishing than them all._

He laughs at her reaction, “yeah, you wouldn’t think this Jew would be so popular. I always said no though. I was happy with you. You have always been alluring, Avis. Always turned my head. But when I started in the studio, I don’t know. It happened more often. I think the power got to my head. I started thinking I was a big shot. I was stressed out. I was making these decisions every day that affected hundreds of people. That if I fucked it up, millions of people across the globe would see. I think it just got to me.” He is looking down. Completely embarrassed and ashamed. _She couldn’t help but feel sorry for him. She was beginning to understand his mindset from all those years ago._

“I didn’t see you as much. We would go such a long time without seeing each other or making love, and then when we did make love it was so drab, didn’t have the zing it used to, usually because of me. Because I was too tired. Because I wasn’t trying. I was also at that point when I was starting to lose my hair, I was getting older, getting fatter, I thought I was becoming unattractive. Not that I was ever Cary Grant but yi know. I was more stressed out. I think I was feeling self-conscious. So, I gave in. Convinced myself that you didn’t want me. That you were being distant. Then when I found out about the affair with the guy from the gas station, that just solidified it. I hadn’t been sleeping with Jeanne for long at that point. But after that, it was almost solidified that you must not have wanted me because of what I was. I started sleeping with nearly everything that breathed at that point.” She flinches at that. **Maybe he was being too graphic. Had to tone that down.**

“Sorry. I was just chasing the dream of being a young, attractive man again. But to be clear, from what Jeanne told you. I never was going to leave you for Jeanne. It became one of those things I said to her because she had begun asking me for commitment. It was to abate her. I had never ever planned on leaving you, nor did I really even want her after the first few years. I never really loved her, Avis. It was her stroking my ego. As were all of the others. Jeanne, though it sounds shitty, was just a convenience, to give me what I thought you didn’t want to. Attention. I got used to having my cake and eating it. I had you on my arm as my wife, Jeanne for sex and attention, and girls to make me feel young with lust.”

_He didn’t love her. He didn’t love any of them. It was just lust. She could deal with that. Could accept that._

He looks up at her. Wants to make sure she’s still with him. Wants to make sure he’s not going too far or saying anything to upset her.

As she sees he’s has paused, she takes her opportunity, “are you being completely honest with me, Ace?”

“Absolutely,” he doesn’t miss a beat. “This is not only the most honest I have been with you, Avis. It’s the most honest I have been with myself in my whole life.” He looks at her directly in the eye, so she knows that he is hiding nothing.

“Honestly, Avis. I thought you were happy.”

She looks at him as if he was mad. She scoffs, “you honestly thought I was happy?”

**Was that the wrong thing to say?**

“Yeah. We became so distant, fighting, challenging, and battling with each other for years. It felt as though there was hardly any like, never mind love. It’s only in the last few weeks, you have reminded me how great we were. You took me back to the times when we would flirt and tease one another. When we just wanted to be together, and close. Maybe you never forgot about that, but I had. I thought you were happy being a kept woman. Honestly. I thought you were happy having a lavish lifestyle without having to fuck me to have it. You got to have your young guy, you got to have that emotional connection with someone who could please you. You didn’t have to work, you could socialise, have your friends, and you didn’t have to have anything to do with me to get it. I honestly thought you had the life you wanted. I didn’t know how upset you were. How unfulfilled, how unloved you felt. I had no idea that you were considering leaving me because you were so unhappy. I honestly thought you slept with a few guys and that your affair was with that one guy, and I thought it was emotional. I thought he was making you feel all the things you didn’t need from me. I thought you just needed me for the money. I thought that you had everything you wanted and just hated me, and for that, for being so obtuse, I am sorry.”

She stared at him. _She had never told him. Now she thought of it, this morning was the first she had told him how she had felt. How unfulfilled and how unwanted she had felt by him alone. How could he have changed if he didn’t know he was doing it in the first place. She had assumed he was more aware than he actually was. She had never even considered that he had been going through something of his own. They had been just as obtuse as each other._

He looked directly at her again. **He needed her to know this.**

“I want to let you know that I wanted you, that I still want you. I know that you didn’t think I did. There were so many times throughout the years though that I was so tempted by you. So many times, I was going to pack the affairs and sleeping around in because of you. Sometimes, I would see couples simply holding hands, or being lovey-dovey in public, stealing kisses, and it would remind me of you. Of how we were when I allowed myself to remember it. Sometimes I would catch you in a certain light and it drove me crazy. Sometimes when we were at social events, there was always tension, but I would be in awe of you. How you could look so magnificently regal. I would be so proud to have you on my arm. You could impress anyone. You could charm God himself if he were physically present. Flash a smile at anyone and make them laugh at the joke you hadn’t even told them. Then there were times when I would see you on top form speaking and laughing with clients, or other men at social events and I would be wild with envy. It just made me want to slam you up against the wall of the nearest cupboard and ravish you, reminding you that you were mine. Or when we were forced to dance with one another, but on the off occasion there wasn’t any tension, or you were a little tipsy, I would just watch you. How happy you seemed, and how beautiful you were when you seemed happy.

Sometimes, I would even be lying next to you in bed, when I had been thinking, and maybe I would be reminded of a scene I had seen in a movie earlier that day, or maybe just feeling down on myself, and I would be so close to rolling over and sinking into you. Just the thought of burying my head into your neck and you squeezing your arms around my shoulders. Sometimes I would be so desperate to have that intimacy back with you. It was something I had never been able to fully get from anyone else. Sometimes just the thought of making love to you again. Just the memory of your face, your voice, your gasp when I used to enter you and you would look into my eyes, then close them in pleasure, and open your mouth in lust, and how I would need to kiss you to try and stifle your moans. Just the thought of that sometimes was so intense, I could easily finish on the spot if I hadn’t controlled it. But my favourite times were when you were in charge of something. When you were running an event in the house, or a gala, or whatever. When you would be walking around pointing at people, instructing people to be somewhere, organising this or that, telling people to fix this, to fix that. That is you in your element. I would just sit back in silence, watching you. You were and still are magnificent. Even in the times where it seemed I didn’t want you, I desperately did.” He is looking at her still, still in awe of her. _He hadn’t looked at her like that in years. Hadn’t looked like he wanted her in such a long time, she almost forgot the expression._

“And I am so angry at myself for fuckin’ it all up between us because I didn’t know how you felt, because you were always everything I ever wanted. And I didn’t act on it, Avis. In the times that I had the urge to, because I honestly didn’t know how you would react. We had been such a strained, angry relationship for so long, that I didn’t know how you would react. I didn’t know if you would slap my hand away, scream at me, be disgusted, be angry. I suppose I sound like a woman, but I didn’t know if you were still attracted to me either, if you even wanted me.”

He pauses then, his eyes gleaming with unshed tears. She too is crying again. _She had no idea he felt his way. No idea that for so many years he had wanted her. So many years, she could have had all she ever wanted._

“I wanted you,” she whispers.

He places a hand on hers, “I know that now. But I didn’t then. Even in the times we did have sex on occasions, it was often forced, with no real connection. Can you honestly tell me that you wouldn’t have rebuked and rejected my advances if I had tried? Knowing about the affairs, that you wouldn’t have just thought I was trying to get my leg over?”

She looks down, really thinking about it.

“No, I can’t say for sure I would have been open to your advances, had you given them.”

He nods slightly.

“I am not excusing my behaviour, Avis. I did it. I did it all. Yeah, I think I had my reasons to an extent. But it doesn’t mean I was right. It doesn’t mean that I haven’t broken your heart in the meantime. I don’t blame you for sleeping around, Avis. I’m astonished and very lucky that you didn’t fall in love with anyone else. You went elsewhere for what you couldn’t get from me. You went to get a human instinct of desire and affection from others. I completely understand that. I can’t say I am elated at the thought of you with numerous men, especially when I thought it was just a couple which drove me crazy enough. I’m just sorry that you had to resort to that because of me. But the fact that you didn’t fall in love and run away with one of them is my good fortune, because when I was thinking about it today, I realised I would have been fuckin’ devastated if you left me. Truthfully, I don’t think it would have been obvious at first, because we were so torn apart, but I think given time, I would have regretted everything. I didn’t realise until this week how much I love and need you, babe. With everything in me. You have bent over backwards for me, back then and now. Without question or hesitation. The perfect wife. And as for wanting you. I mean, two hard ons in the last two days should tell you enough.”

She snorts now, smiling at him through her tears, still clinging onto his hand.

He smiles back at her, “you’re beautiful. Always have been. Always will be.”

He strokes her hand. **He hopes she is believing him. He needs her to.**

“In answer to your ultimatum from yesterday, I choose you. I want you. Every part of you. I want pissed off, Avis. Dominant, Avis. Saucy, Avis. Bossy, Avis. Vulnerable, Avis. Direct, Avis. Flirty, Avis. And especially, happy, fulfilled, and loved, Avis. I want to make it up to you. To gain your trust back. To make you believe everything I am saying and everything I feel.” She was sobbing now. _This was everything she ever dreamed of. She can’t believe it was actually happening._ She grabbed both of his hands and clutched them. This did not stop him finishing.

“I want you to feel desired, loved, wanted, fulfilled, cherished, appreciated. I have been a fuckin’ despicable husband. A despicable man. I haven’t been there for you in any way other than financial. But I want to rectify that. I want to support you in every way, as I should have this whole time. I left you in the middle of the ocean, in a boat without an oar, and I will admit I lost my way. But I’m back with an ocean liner, and I want to bring you back onto on board. Let you drive that ocean liner, to do with whatever you please with it. I promise you I’m going to live the rest of my life, however long that may be, making this up to you and making you feel all of that if you’ll let me. To the best of my ability, I will never neglect you again. I will never stray again. I want to move forward, if you will forgive me, because God am I sorry! I know you said you had started to this morning to forgive me and I hope you can find it in your heart to continue to, because I was being a jackass this morning and I am sorry for it. I don’t want you to leave me because I have been a thoughtless asshole this morning, and for the last 10 years. Please, just tell me as soon as I am off-track so I can try and fix it, because I am a fuckin’ imbecile and might not notice. I admit that! But I love you, Avis. I have never loved anyone more. I want to go on with complete honesty between us. No more secrets, no more lies. So please, please just consider staying and we can try again?”

He looks at her expectantly, hopeful. She is still crying, looking downward, one of her delicate hands wiping at her cheeks. **He hopes what he had said had been enough to make her believe him. He had laid his heart out. What were he to do if she walked now? If she said no?**

_She can’t believe he had said everything she had ever wanted. She was so overwhelmed. He wants her. He wasn’t going to leave her and go back to one of the many other women. He never loved them. Had thought she didn’t want him. Both of them had been guilty, especially of not communicating their needs to one another. They both had been so fucking obtuse._

“Avis?” he says nervously, raising his hand to her cheek, leaning forward, reclining to her level, close to her face. He raises her head softly and slowly to give her the opportunity to retract contact, as he feels the tears now run down his hands. Her eyes still remained closed tightly until she feels she can pull herself together. When she opens her eyes, she looks directly into his, her face a mere inch away from his. _He’s frightened. Close to tears himself._

“Babe?” He tries again.

She nods vigorously, as she brings her hand up to push his further into her cheek.

“Yes, we can try again,” she sniffs, still crying, as she presses her forehead to his.

She shocks him when she jumps up suddenly onto her knees and flings her arms around his shoulders, hugging him fiercely. He doesn’t hesitate to bring his arms tightly around her waist, burying his face into her neck, inhaling deeply. **He is so relieved.** _She is so happy._

“Oh… thank you. Thank you, honey. We can take it slow. I want you to know I’m serious. I want to remind you exactly how incredible you are. I will even woo you, if that what it takes,” he mumbles into her neck. “You okay with that?” He pulls back, still dangerously close to her face. Her eyes are still tear stained, but she gives the biggest grin through them that he has ever seen.

“Oh, yeah,” she laughs.

“I love you, Avis,” his eyes never leave her as he smiles back.

“I love you, too.”

She grabs the back of his head then and slams him into a fierce kiss. Almost mounting him as she tries to gain dominance when he responds, opening his mouth to her.

_This is exactly where she wants to be._

**This is exactly where he wants to be.**


	8. Leaving

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All right, I think I know where I might be going with it. Bare with me if it seems filler.

_It has been such a long time since she has enjoyed doing this so much. She obviously had felt passion with some of the other guys, but it really was different when you had a connection with someone. When you wanted them so much you couldn’t stand it._

She can feel herself pushing closer to him, his hands on her back encouraging her nearer to him, as she invades his mouth. **This is the wild Avis he remembered.** She feels him running his hands to her hips, and then down to the back of her thighs, encouraging her to straddle him. As they continue warring with one another and he caresses her thighs, she can’t help the soft moans that escape her throat as she pushed him further back, so he was sitting back comfortably against the headboard. She is pressed fully against him now, and she can feel how hard he was underneath her.

**She felt so good. She still had a way with that mouth of hers. She hadn’t lost her touch at all. He couldn’t help encouraging her as close to him as possible and was simply desperate to feel every inch of skin he possibly could. But feeling her grinding up against him on his lap so desperately had been a different kind of wonderful. She had always been so sensual, yet provocative, and it drove him so wild he could hardly think.**

_God this felt so right. Just sitting on his lap, having his hands roam over her. And kissing. How she had missed just kissing him. She had missed teasing him, just grinding against him. That build-up of tension between them when they didn’t think they could take it anymore. But there was something to be said for that mutual tango with their mouths._ She felt lost in lust, of being encased by him. He was running his hands up under her nightdress, across her bare thighs and hips, encouraging every movement of her pelvis by pulling her down towards him harder, whilst she started opening his pyjama shirt just to run her hands across the skin on his chest, up and over his shoulders, to his neck.

_This was so hot. She was so turned on. She just wanted him inside her but wanted to prolong it also. Years of connection, of remembering every little movement that he loved was coming back to her so easily. It was almost overwhelming._

**He could feel his breathing becoming more ragged, with her pelvis driving him crazy, making him more desperate by the second. He had been struggling a bit to breathe. He had only been taking short breaths in between opening his mouth when he kissed her. There was no way he was stopping because he got a little breathy. Everyone got a little breathy when having sex, hell he got breathy when he got a blowjob and he just had to sit there. No way. He would just move away from her mouth, so he had more chances to take a breath. I wonder if that spot under her ear still makes her moan like she used to.**

He moves from her mouth and starts trailing open mouthed kisses down to her jawline. _She wasn’t going to stop him. Not a fucking chance._ Then he starts running his hands further up her night dress, running his fingers lightly up the flesh of her sides with the tip of his fingers as he attacked her pulse point. _Her weak spot._ She lets out a throaty moan filling the entire room and throws her head back, grasping the back of his head to push him further into her neck. _He was driving her crazy._ **If this is how she responds to that, he can’t wait until they really get down to it.**

“Ace. Oh my God!” She shouts. He smiles, but simply increases the intensity of his ministrations on her neck now that she has given him better access.

However, she can hear his breath becoming more ragged directly next her ear. She can feel that every time he pulls back from her skin, the breathing in her ear becomes heavier and harsher.

He still kisses her neck as her mind reels. _He is struggling to breathe, again. It’s heavier each time he moves his lips away from me. Shit. What was she doing? The doctor explicitly told them that they couldn’t have sex. What was she doing? Jesus Christ, Avis. He tells you he loves you and you just straddle him in the first ten seconds without thinking that the man just had a heart attack. She had to stop. She wasn’t going to risk him having another one underneath her._

She pulls back quickly, pressing her hands to his chest, holding herself at arm’s length from him, stopping her pelvis from gyrating and sitting back a little further on thighs.

“Stop! Stop a minute,” she says as she breathes heavily, trying to catch her breath. She looks into his eyes and he is completely confused.

**Wow, wow. What the fuck? What is she doing? Has she changed her mind already? For fuck sake.**

“What? What did I do?” He is confused. Needs to know what’s happening.

“We aren’t supposed to do this, Ace. The doctor said…”

“Fuck what Saul said. We haven’t made love in years, I think this should be the exception don’t, you?” He grabs under her elbows, trying to coax her back closer to him.

She bends her arms a little, allowing herself to get a little closer.

“No, baby. No. I wish it were but I’m not going to risk you having another attack like you did earlier, or worse just because we wanted to act like teenagers,” she strokes his face, leaning her forehead to his, still trying to catch the remainder of her breath, keeping her pelvis far away from him. _God ,she’s still so riled up by him. She so badly wanted him. How does he do that so quickly? Be strong, Avis. It’s not worth what it could cause._

He kisses her again, more softly this time. One peck. Two. Three.

He brings his forehead back to hers and lets out a deep breath.

“But I want you. I want to make it up to you,” he growls, roaming his hands still across her bare thighs.

“I know, baby. But think about how good it will be if we wait. I won’t be sitting worrying about your breathing. I can really concentrate on us. On this. You wouldn’t need to focus on your stamina, you can just give yourself to the pleasure. It will be so much better. One night of passion wouldn’t be worth losing you forever.” She has his face clasped in both of her hands now. Is nodding to convince him to nod alongside her. Gives him a double peck on the lips and then pulls back, running her hands from his shoulders to his wrists and back up.

“Plus, we agreed to take this slow. I don’t put out on the first night!” she says seductively, looking at him in the eye, raising her eyebrows, and licking her lips, smiling.

“That’s not how I remember it,” he fires back, scrunching up his face.

“Not anymore… Trust me darling. It will be worth it.” She smiles and pouts to him, waiting for him to agree.

He lets out a loud groan, looking at the ceiling. “Fine!” His Bronx accent so much more pronounced now. He reaches his hands away from her bare thighs and up to her clothed waist now. **No point in teasing himself, if he can’t have the full shebang.**

“But Saul didn’t say anything about kissing! Just to be clear. He didn’t even say anything about foreplay. He said sex.” **He is trying to find a loophole now. He can’t help wanting her.**

She throws her head back, still clinging to his forearms, lets out a hearty laugh. She looks back into his eyes, smiling, “no, no he didn’t. Maybe we can see if it can happen in moderation… and stop if it gets too heated. And though I am flattered at your enthusiasm to bed me, I don’t know how you are going to stop yourself getting heated if we did only play, because I certainly know I will struggle stopping myself…” **Big flirt. He’s ready to have this back. The flirting. He loves it.**

“And technically, I could take care of you because it won’t exert me,” he says wiggling his eyebrows. _With how she was feeling right now, that was a VERY tempting offer. But she couldn’t do that to him._

“No, darling. I would rather wait for it to be mutual. But Saul is coming by tomorrow afternoon to check up on you when I’m at work, so maybe you can take your theories up with him.” She smiles looking at him through her eyelashes, resuming running her hands up and down his arms as he continues to grasp at her waist.

He smiles slyly at her, **got an idea,** then suddenly turns his face angelic.

She narrows her eyes at him, and slaps her hand on his chest, moving it rapidly to point at his face after.

“And don’t bother trying to tell me that Saul said you can fuck me in every position in the Kama Sutra, because Saul is going to call me at the studio to give me an update and you can bet your ass I will ask him specifically about this!”

He looks crestfallen. **Dammit. How did she always suss him out.** She laughs realising that she had foiled his plan. They sit quietly for a few minutes. _She wants to make sure his breathing is fully back to normal._

“You calmer now?” She asks seductively, still rubbing his arms, gesturing her head down to his member, raises her eyebrow. _Time to tease._

“Yeah… but I think I would be completely calm if you were no longer straddling my thighs, a single move away from me burying myself in you.” He smiles back angelically. Flutters his eyelashes right back at her. **He could hit as hard as she could.**

She laughs now and swings her leg off of him, crawling to the top of the bed so she can get back under the covers. “We need to try and get some sleep anyway. I have the studio first thing in the morning. I need to go in for the full day. The work is starting to pile up.”

She lies down next to him now, looking up at him expectantly as he looks down at her, “and you need to have an important conversation with the good doctor.” She punctuates this by bringing a hand up to his chest, patting it.

He laughs. “Need my beauty sleep for that so I look my cutest for him.”

He hears her laughing as he leans to the bedside table and turns out the light, shifting down the bed more so he can lie down properly.

He faces the ceiling, as she cuddles into her pillow. **Something is missing.**

He looks round and sees her beginning to relax.

“C’mere…” he says, lifting his arm.

She opens her eyes, looks to him in the darkness.

“What?”

“C-mere!”

He repeats, beckoning her with his hand. _Oh. He wants to cuddle._

 _She strangely feels nervous_ , _which she doesn’t understand considering she was grinding against his dick fifteen minutes ago, but she hadn’t done this with anyone in so long._ _Even with the men she slept with, they never cuddled_. She moves herself closer to him and cuddles into his chest, putting her right hand underneath his open shirt to caress the skin above his heart. _Still beating. At a good pace._ He places his arm around her, picks up one of the curls of her hair, and twists it around his finger as her head rises and falls along with the rhythm of his chest. **He feels so content. Feeling her so close. Feeling her weight on his chest. This had been one of the things he had missed most when they had been estranged.**

He thinks she is starting to fall asleep until he hears her speak.

“I think you should stay on that side of the bed for the time being. The bathroom is nearer for when you’re moving better. The telephone is there in case you need anything when I’m not here. We can get the radio moved over in the morning. It just makes more sense.” She’s thinking out loud, and he merely nods in agreement, not caring where he sleeps. There is a long silence again until she breaks it.

“I can’t believe after so many years, we are right here, Ace. Lying here. Embracing each other. Having both just got it all out. It’s really true when they say about what a difference a day makes.” She is smiling into his chest, running her nails gently across the skin above his heart.

“I know. I’m glad you told me everything this morning. I never would have thought you felt that way if you hadn’t have said. I’m just sorry I didn’t figure it out myself.” He still turns a ringlet around his finger. **He always loved her hair. It was such a distinctive colour. Not many women could get away with it. But she carried it off. And it was so soft. She must bathe in the blood of a thousand virgins because her skin was the same. Always so soft**.

She is thinking out loud again. “I don’t know why I never said anything. I just thought it was obvious, but I suppose it was obvious to me only because only I can know what I feel unless I tell someone. I thought the arguments and fights were obvious enough, but they were never about what I was upset about. They were always about something unrelated. And I never knew how you were feeling, either. If you hadn’t told me today, I never would have guessed how insecure you were, and how jealous. Never in a million years would I have considered that. You always seemed so confident.” _She loved when they would talk like this, just lying in each other’s arms. So raw and open just talking into the darkness._

He huffs, moving his hand to her upper arm, stroking it up and down.

“Avis, I didn’t even realise I was going through most of that myself. As you can likely tell from my blindness for several years, I don’t commonly think of my emotions and reasons for doing things. I only realised it myself today when I was left to think about it. Of course, I knew I was jealous of you with the other guy. Of course, I knew the things I was self-conscious about: the weight, the hair, the age. But I was barely willing to admit that to myself, I pushed it to the back of my mind. Never did I ever think I did all the things I did because of it, affecting you in the process. But I promise you, I will never go back to that. I only want you, babe. No one else. I will never stray again.”

She cuddled in harder to him now. _They had been so stupid._ “I know, darling. I don't want anyone else either. I absolutely would never go to anyone else again either. I honestly think both of us were both so wrapped up in our own insecurities, drawing conclusions from each other’s behaviour, and being selfish putting our own feelings first without thinking of each other’s. But I think that if we move forward just being transparent with one another it can be so different. When we think the other is pulling away or acting off, we can ask. When we are feeling a certain way ourselves, we can be honest and open. I just want to go back to having a marriage where my husband is my best friend as well. I just wish we had this conversation sooner.” She feels sad now. She kisses his chest, holding onto him tight.

“Hey,” he rubs her arm, kisses her head. “There no point in having regrets now. We could have gone another 20 years without having this conversation, Avis. Or…” he takes a gulp, “I could have died when I had that heart attack, and we never would have had this conversation and found each other again. We are lucky, babe. So lucky.” _She sheds a tear as he talks. They were lucky._

She tilts her head up to his, looking into his eyes. He gives a smile in return. They both lean to give a long kiss.

“I love you so much,” he says. “I’m so glad you did a classic Avis and lost your shit this morning so we could get to this point.” He smiles, teasing her.

She laughs also, smiling as she settles back into his chest. “You won’t be saying that once you need to deal with this for a week, but I love you too.” She resumes stroking his chest with her palm.

He smiles but speaks candidly, “I will be saying it after dealing with it for the next 20 years, babe.”

She laughs heartily, filling the room, “Gaad, you’re getting soppy!” _She needs to tease him. They are getting overly sentimental and she isn’t used to it. She doesn’t want them to overdo it._

He laughs, “just trying to get in your panties.” He slaps her ass for good measure.

She raises her head in mock displeasure.

“Owwwhh! Enough of that! Or you won’t be getting into my panties even if Jesus Christ himself says your well enough!” She lies back down onto his chest. He kisses the top of her head again, smiling, lingering to smell her hair.

“Right, go to sleep. We don’t want Saul bitching about how I look like I’m not sleeping.”

However, her breathing has already become more rhythmic.

“Night, babe,” he says as he squeezes her.

“Night, darling,” she mumbles into his chest sleepily.

He feels her breathing even out, assuming he has fallen asleep, he stops stroking his thumb across her waist, wanting to never let her go again.

****

She awakes the next morning having fallen off of his chest and onto her back next to him. However, their hands have apparently connected in their sleep as she can feel her hand clasping his in the arm slung next to her head. She groggily raises her wrist to look at the time. She imagines early since the light has started to peek through the curtains. 7am. She groans. She really should get up and start to get ready. She looks to her left to see him relaxed, snoring softly. His arm strewn under neck, connecting their hands. _She felt so content. Waking up this way in his arms. Connecting their body, their skin. She was waiting for the moment she would wake up and realise this was all a dream. Yesterday had been a lot to take in but she feels like they are starting new, like her life had been in the dark for years and was now being drawn into the light._

 _Ugh, she knew she had to get up. She wished she could lie here all day. Remain within their bubble from last night and just stay in bed amusing themselves with board games, listening to the radio, and teasing one another. But she had a studio to run and she would be damned if she was going to let it crumble under her watch. She did truly love the challenge, and now that he would be back soon, she would have the support she needed, and she would be able to support him back._ She had smiled at that. At the thought of her and Ace running the studio together now. _They would be able to catapult that studio into the stratosphere as the only studio that stood for equality and progress. They would be a true power couple. Having the different perspectives which could meet as one to make the best pictures the world had ever seen without limitations. She felt that the studio was reaching new heights and she was so glad that Ace would be alongside her soon to get experience its journey._

She took a final glance to the side at him as she forced herself up. She kissed his hand before extracting it from hers. She had started shimmying across the bed to its end, slipping off. She stretches widely and walks up to the window, pulling the curtain back slightly to gauge the weather so she can decide on an outfit. _Such a glorious morning. The sun is stunning at this time in the morning.. It is just divine._

As she walks to the bathroom to begin her morning routine, she sees Ace stir, turning toward her as she approaches him.

“What time is it?” He’s groggy. He must still be shattered.

She leans over him, placing her hand on his chest, kissing his forehead.

“It’s only 7am. Go back to sleep. I’m going to get ready.” This seems to be all he needs as he turns away from her onto his side and relaxes back into the pillows. She smiles as she walks into the bathroom.

She is groomed, with a face of make-up, and fully dressed within 40 minutes. She hates that she has to put more effort into her appearance when she goes into the studio. However, as frustrating as it is, no one takes you seriously if you’re not put together. Especially if you are a woman and looking good as a woman apparently takes twice as long as a man.

She sits at her vanity, putting the finishing touches of her makeup on, ending with her classic matte red lipstick. As she puckers her lips, he speaks.

“Good morning, beautiful”

She smiles widely then, turns around in her vanity chair towards him, seeing him leaning up on his elbow looking at her sleepily.

She flashes him a seductive smile, batting her eyes.

“Good morning. How did you sleep?”

“Not bad. Better when you were in here.” He flicks his eyebrows up, giving her a suggestive smile.

She laughs at that. “You start your flirting early.”

“Just getting the practice in for when Saul gives me the go ahead.”

She laughs, rolling her eyes, and turns back towards her vanity so that she can pin her hat into her hair. “Wishful thinking, buster. You have a long way to go to get the go ahead for that.”

“Then I got plenty of time to practice. Screw the studio, why don’t you just come back to bed and keep me company.” _She can hear he’s in a playful mood. It’s such a different feeling being the person who has to leave him in bed in the morning to go to work. Is this how he felt when he used to leave her in bed to go to the studio for an early morning meeting. Was she this flirtatious when attempting to get him to come back to bed when the roles were reversed?_

She rises from her chair, holding her purse and gloves, turns back to him, her hat now secure. He’s sitting up now with his arms tucked behind his head. _Looking very smug._ She saunters over to him, swaying her hips, giving him a show. She stops at his bedside, sitting on the edge of the bed, placing her hand on his stomach, dangerously close to where she was sure he would like her to touch him. He gasps and closes his eyes at the near contact. **What is she up to?** _Aha! Avis, you still got it honey!_

She pouts her mouth with faux sadness.

“As much as I would love to stay with you in this bed all day, I unfortunately have to go into the studio, where I haven’t been in two days.” He dramatically pouts at her, mockingly. _He was cute when he was like this._

“So, God knows what will be awaiting me when I walk in the door. I’m sure Miss Stinson will be having a field-day with the number of messages she has to dictate to me.” He has moved his arms down, to grab one of her hands and is now stroking it.

“Now don’t tell me you aren’t getting on with my Miss Stinson. The backbone of that studio. Because she is a deal-breaker, Avis. A deal-breaker.” He is mock offended on her behalf.

“No… actually… Miss Stinson and I get on perfectly well. She’s efficient and good at her job which is exactly what I need from her. She’s not like half the other bimbos walking around that lot. So, you don’t have to fight for Miss Stinson’s honour, she is quite safe in her position. The bimbos I cannot promise job security.” She smiles cheekily.

“Thank god!” He declares in exaggerated relief to the room.

She laughs harder now, but quickly becomes serious, taking a gulp, looking very worried.

“Are you sure you’re going to be alright here alone today?” She is stroking his hand with both of hers anxiously.

“I was alone yesterday…” he says attempting to tease her.

“Shut up. I was right downstairs, and you know what I mean!” She smacks his hand.

“No, seriously?” **She is panicking and he needs to relax her.**

“Avis, stop worrying. I’m going to be just fine. Gertie is downstairs. Saul is coming to see me this afternoon. Sounds like I’m not going to get any peace and quiet.” He smiles at her reassuringly. **She doesn’t seem convinced.**

“Maybe I should just stay home” she says as she looks up to the ceiling and then back down to him, “after all I’m the boss, and I can do work from home. Can take meetings over the telephone. We aren’t living in the dark ages! People can come here to see me if they really have to and- “, she is cut off by him speaking.

“Avis!” He pauses, taking a breath. “Stop overexerting yourself. Saul would be ashamed.” He smiles at her then, gaining a small one from her. “I’m going to be just fine. I will call you if I need anything. I promise.”

She sighs deeply then. “You will call?”

“Yes,” he says exhaling.

“You promise?”

“Yes.” He is stern, never breaking eye contact. He wants her to know he’s telling the truth.

She bites the inside of her mouth, thinking.

“Call me at some point through the day anyway just so I can be sure you’re alright?” She’s almost pleading now.

“I can do that.”

She exhales, slightly abated and stands now, still not letting go of his hand, collecting her purse and gloves with her spare.

“And you be sure to call if you need me because I will come straight home. Fuck the studio. I will leave halfway through a meeting if I have to.” She’s stern now. She wants him to know she’s serious.

“I believe you. I promise I will call the moment I need you, if that moment comes.”

“Okay.” She grips his hand stronger. _She’s not ready to let go yet. She remembers only feeling this way once before. The first time she had gone out with Ace without Claire not long after she was born. She had held her for half an hour before she left. Afraid of all the things she couldn’t control in the event something went wrong. It had been fine then and would be fine now. He was an adult. He knew how to take care of himself. And she would tell Gertie to check on him every half hour, to call her if he was being an ass._

He sees her ruminating and shakes her hand a little.

“I will be fine,” he again attempts to reassure her.

“Okay,” she leans down and kisses him, holding it for a few seconds. “I love you. I won’t be late.”

He smiles as she let’s go of his hand, walking backward to the door.

“I love you, too. I will be here waiting, working on the most alluring seductive lying down position I can muster to try and tempt you to let me bed you on your return!”

“Don’t count on it!” She laughs, blows a kiss, and exits the room.


	9. Girl Talk

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Avis thoughts in italics.

The radio blared in the black Cadillac turning up onto Hollywood Boulevard. However, everyone except the driver itself noticed this. Avis Amberg wasn’t paying attention to anything other than her own thoughts as she raced through the streets of Los Angeles. _She couldn’t help but feel like a new woman on her drive to the studio. She finally felt like she had everything she had wanted in her life. She couldn’t pinpoint what this new feeling was, but she felt like she herself could take on the Joe Louis and win!_

She only drew attention to reality enough to go into Ernie’s gas station. _No, was not here to get her own attentions fulfilled, Ernie always gave her, as a loyal customer, an extra special rate on gas!_ She noticed the young attendants surprise when she stated that she was looking for a full tank instead of wanting to go to Dreamland, however, he didn’t falter in filling the tank up quickly and efficiently. She had wanted to speak to Ernie but had been told that he wasn’t going to be in today. She hadn’t been here for much other than gas since she took over as studio head and wanted to apologise. _He and his boys… ahem… young gentlemen must have lost a lot of revenue from her absence, however, now she was devoting herself fully to Ace, she wanted to let him know straight up that she wouldn’t be back for that service anymore. Of course, Ernie had developed into a good friend over the years, especially when he retired from that service himself so she would help in any way she could if he began to struggle, but she definitely would not take part in those activities anymore._

She saw the bodies scatter when she pulled into the lot. _The scatter effect – she had started to call it. People really did find her intimidating didn’t they. She would need to ask Ace if he experienced the same thing._ She made a point this morning of saying hello to everyone first when she passed them, even stretching far enough to asking some of them how they were. _She wasn’t a bad person; she just wasn’t a very openly social person unless she had to be. People usually would greet her first, and even in that, it was very few people, usually the older ones she had known for years. The younger ones simply looked terrified when she was near, some of them taking a sharp turn around a corner when they spotted her. But when she spoke to them or was introduced, she would be nothing but polite and kind in return. She wanted to attempt to move away from seeming so intimidating. Of course, she wanted to keep it in her back pocket for when she had to assert her authority, she was very good at it, but she didn’t want to people to be terrified to approach her! To even greet her with a hello!_ _She definitely was a lamb in wolves clothing, but she was going to try and seem not so harsh._

Most of the people on the lot were not very good at hiding their surprise and confusion when she greeted them all first. Maybe it was the huge smile on her face and the genuine greeting that threw them off. They would get used to it. She liked being and feeling this way and would be damned if she went back to the angry person she was before.When she had entered the office even Miss Stinson looked at her funny, though she simply wished her good morning in return. _Jesus Christ, was she really that bad? The way everyone was looking at her you would like she bludgeoned everyone in her pathway whenever she entered the studio._ She isn’t going to let that stop her though.She asks Miss Stinson politely for some tea and informs her that if Ace calls at any point she wants to be informed. No matter if she is down at one the set, or if she is in a meeting. She is to be disturbed, no matter what. After drinking her tea and a meeting with a financial advisor, Avis decides to walk down to the set of Meg. She hasn’t been down in a while and wants a sneak peek at how it is coming along. She wants to meet Ellen later regarding this new movie she has given to Jeanne, so maybe she would run into her down there. _Jeanne. How will it be with Jeanne once Ace returns. How will he take it that Jeanne has been given her own movie since he has been giving her bullshit roles for years? He was just going to have to suck it up. She was sure that it would fly under the radar once she told him about Meg anyway. But would it be awkward with them being near on another, when they had been having an affair? And with her now around? And that had the attack with her? She can’t think of it now. She will speak to Ace about it nearer the time._

When she arrives on the set, she sees that they are between scenes. It’s a pretty packed set with all of the cameramen, script girls, sound guys, and of course the notables: Dick, Raymond, Claire, Camille, Jack, and even Henry. No Ellen, damnit. She sees Dick and Raymond deep in conversation, with Henry tailing behind them trying to get a word in yet cut off every time he tries. _She can’t help a secret laugh at this. He must be really frustrating Dick._ Raymond holding up his hands up, pointing at things on the stage, clearly trying to show his vision.

Camille sits solitary on her chair, looking intensely at her script. _She can see that Camille wants to take this seriously. She has been a complete professional each time Avis has seen her. Well, of course she would be. She knows that all eyes are going to be on her. That there is a lot riding on this. She has made the right choice, and she definitely knows that now._

However, her eyes draw most to Claire and Jack. They are standing talking to each other away from everyone else, giggling, whilst Claire pushes Jack every so often. _Is Claire_ _flirting with Jack?!_ _Well like mother like daughter she supposes._ However, she can see that Jack is more reticent, though not completely against it, but seems melancholier. _She hopes that Jack isn’t holding back because of her. Though she has a feeling it isn’t. He looks almost dejected. Like he is accidentally having fun with Claire. She hopes Claire doesn’t get her heart broken, she knows how that feels. However, Jack was another one she was going to have to have a chat with._

She approaches them slowly.

Claire spots her first.

“Mummy! You’re at work today!”

She smiles, “I am indeed. Had to make sure that the place didn’t burn in my absence.”

Jack smiles awkwardly. _He has never really been comfortable around me since getting the part. Probably didn’t know how he should act with her since he had been paid to fuck her up against a staircase banister two months ago, and now she’s his boss. Pretty big gap between those._

“Hello, Jack. How are you?”

“Just fine, Mrs Amberg. How are you?”

“Great… Claire, your nose needs powdered. You’re starting to look shiny. It won’t come up well on camera.”

Her plan works as Claire immediately grabs her nose embarrassed and excuses herself to find a makeup artist. However, this leaves Jack looking even more nervous. _What does he think she’s going to do, try and fuck him on the floor right now?_

She shakes her head and starts to whisper to him, attempting to approach this as softly and be as unseductive as she can possibly muster. _What a life one leads, having to try and be less seductive!_

“Jack, would you be able to come up to my office at your earliest convenience? Don’t worry it’s nothing bad. It’s just work stuff! Nothing personal.” She nods to him, smiling kindly.

“Sure, Mrs Amberg. I will come up as soon as they dismiss me from the set here,” he gives a weak smile.

“Good boy,” she finishes as she turns her back on him and walks towards Dick.

He is still in a conversation with Raymond as Henry still attempts to speak.

However, none of them notice her as she approaches behind them.

“Dick!” She shouts to get his attention.

They all fly around to face her rapidly, as she smiles fiercely.

“Avis! When did you get here?” Dick begins, reaching down to kiss her cheek.

“Mrs Amberg,” Raymond says softly as he gives a weak nod and smile.

Henry simply rolls his eyes and walks away.

“Not long ago. I was in a meeting with my financial advisor,” she says as she looks around the set, confused as she watches two men carrying a huge panel of wood by her.

“Could you give us a moment?” Dick directs towards Raymond, as he takes Avis’ arm steering her away to a more secluded spot.

“How are you? How is Ace?” He continues to walk with her, she follows.

“I’m just fine, as is Ace. What’s been going on?”

He finally turns to her, takes his glasses off and retracts a handkerchief from his pocket, beginning to wipe the glasses.

“Not much. Henry is driving me crazy, but we all saw that coming. The budgets are fine. There was a bit of a mishap with Raymond, but he’s rectified that now.” He explains, still focusing on wiping his glasses.

She pulls a face at him confused, wanting a better explanation, though he does not see it.

“But other than that, just the usual filming drama. Each of the actors have been having their first scenes in the past week, and because they are all in house, they don’t have much previous experience, so a few more takes than usual to allow them to become more comfortable in front of the camera. So that has been a few more hours of shooting than usual but it was to be expected.” He shrugs.

_Well that doesn’t sound too bad. Seems that he has everything under control here._

“All right. How was Claire? She told me she thought she did all right?” She is tentative, doesn’t know if she is prepared for the answer if it’s disparaging. He has returned his glasses to his face now, is looking at her directly in the eye. 

“She was fine! Just fine. She was shaky at first, but like I said, in house actors with their first time on camera. It was to be expected, but what we ended with was actually pretty good. And I’m not just saying that because she’s your daughter and you’re my boss. If she keeps rehearsing, she will smash her next scenes, and could make a nice little career out of this.” _That’s a relief._

“Good. How has everyone else been? Camille? Jack?”

“Great. Jack is the perfect heart throb. Not a bad actor either. Camille is pretty amazing. Definitely the right person for the job.” He is nodding his head now, with his arms crossed.

She is ringing her hands a little now. “Good. Good. That’s a relief. I’ve been worried how everything has been going from home, you know?”

He places a hand on hers to stop them from ringing.

“Avis, you’ve been gone for two days. It’s all fine. If anything bad was happening, I would have told you by now.”

“I know! I know. I trust you, Dick,” she smiles weakily, and places her hand over his giving it a squeeze.

“Good, now why don’t I fill you in properly at lunch? We will probably call a break at around 12.30?”

“Sounds good. If Jack finishes filming early, could you send him up to see me, I want to have a word with him,” she smiles.

He lifts his eyebrow, suggestively. _She forgot he had been there when Henry revealed that. Is this how it was going to be when she mentioned Jack now?_

“Don’t give me that. I told you that was over when he started working here and was only a couple of times! I also wanted to see Ellen as well, if you wanted to make a suggestion about that, but I haven’t seen her anywhere,” she throws her hands up to reiterate her confusion on where Ellen could possibly be.

“She’s working with this new guy they found to play the studio head. She said he hasn’t been in the business for years but has some good potential. If I see her though I tell her you’re looking for her,” he shouts starting to walk away from her and back towards the others.

“Thank you! You’re a darling!”

He smiles and heads back to cast.

“All right folks! Let’s get back to it!” When he shouts this, everyone starts bustling out of chairs and into position. Everything is all of a sudden very loud, with people finishing their conversations and bells ringing. But then it suddenly becomes very silent.

She watches in the background a little now, not wanting to make anyone nervous with her presence. _This has been her dream. To be surrounded by this. To be active in it. She had come down a handful of times when Ace first became studio head just to watch. She has seen some of the greats on this lot. Bette Davis, Henry Fonda, Katharine Hepburn, Bogart, Olivier. She loved being immersed in it. Now she was having a hand in it, it was even better._

She leaves the set feeling satisfied. Happier than ever. She goes directly to her office, decides that she is going to have a look at some scripts. It is only perhaps an hour later that Miss Stinson enters declaring that Jack Castello is here on her request.

As she nods her head, declaring to Miss Stinson for him to come in, she begins to light a cigarette. _She might need one for this conversation_.

When she looks up, he is apprehensively standing by the door, shifting his hat in his hands, as Miss Stinson closes the door.

_This was definitely going to be an awkward conversation._

“Come in, Jack. Have a seat!”

She is waving him over, taking another drag of her cigarette.

“Don’t look so worried! I just wanted to have a chat. Take a load off!”

He walks over timidly and takes a seat across from her desk facing her, attempting to look her in the eye. _Yeesh, she was going to have to just rip off the band aid to put him out of his misery._

“All right, I’m going to be straight with you, Jack,” she takes a final draw of her cigarette, and exhales as she puts the cigarette out in the ashtray.

She clasps her hands on the table and leans forward into them.

“You have been very kind to me, always. When I first seen you… in the hotel, you were very kind, inquisitive about my life, very open about your own, and I am very grateful for that. It was the first time someone cared to know about me and my life. It was also the first time that I was able to come to reason about how I was feeling, and my feelings toward Mr Amberg, you remember?” She is looking at him nodding.

“Yes, Mrs Amberg. You were quite sad and wanted Mr Amberg to take notice…” He is trying to confirm they are on the same wavelength.

“Yes, and you understand the reasons I… you know… went to the gas station and paid for these services. I just needed to feel wanted. I asked you that first night to help me feel that.” She is nodding again at him expectantly, to make sure he is still with her.

“Yes, Mrs Amberg. I hope you don’t feel like I disappointed you. I tried the best I could.” He is still nervous and shy.

“No, Jack! Not at all. You were great. It’s not that…”

She pauses briefly, “I’m not sure if you would have heard by now that Mr Amberg had been unwell, but was recovering?” _She wasn’t entirely sure if he would know Ace had a heart attack. She hadn’t spent the night with Jack since long before that, so didn’t know if he would only know he was given the party line that Ace was simply unwell and told to have bedrest._

“Yes, I heard about Mr Amberg. I was glad to hear he was recovering.” He smiles genuinely at her.

She smiles in return.

“Well, it seems that this time Mr Amberg and I have had together in his recovery has paved the way for more communication and… to sum things up, we have reconciled. We want to give our marriage another go… fully.” She looks at him, eyebrows raised, seeing if he understands. She sees almost a relief wash over his face.

“Oh, that’s great, Mrs Amberg. I’m so glad for you!” He is smiling genuinely at her. “I know from what you told me before that it had caused you a lot of heart ache so I’m glad for you, I really am.”

She smiles again, _she isn’t finished though_.

“Thank you. Now you obviously know that that means I won’t ever be seeking your services or anyone else’s again at that gas station. And whilst I was very grateful at the time, I want to make sure you know now that there was never anything between us apart from the act itself, and there is never going to be anything between us now or in the future either, yes?” _She feels awkward saying it out loud. He might think her mad for thinking he could be attracted to her, but she had to squash it in the off chance._

He stands now, and starts pacing, blustering, “Wha? No, Mrs Amberg! Of course not. It was never anything other than a job for me!” His eyes widen now, and he stops pacing, staring at her directly in the eyes like a sad puppy who just soiled themselves indoors.

“Sorry! I mean… it wasn’t a chore. You’re very… pretty… and…”

She’s smiling now as he tries to clean up his mess, “Jack! Please sit down.”

He exhales deeply and takes a seat, places his head in his hands. She rises and reaches over the desk to offer him a cigarette from her engraved cigarette case. He looks up and takes one, as does she. She leans over her desk again with a light, which he quickly leans into, lighting his cigarette. He throws himself back into the chair, taking a huge draw. She lights her own and closes the lighter head, taking a draw, and letting out a huge exhale of smoke. She takes a seat again and crosses her legs.

“Don’t worry, Jack. You’ve not offended me. I am not deluded enough to think that you would have slept with me if I hadn’t paid you.” He moves to interrupt her, but she lifts her hand to halt his attempt.

“I spoke to Ernie and your story is just like his and every other guys in that gas station. You would never have got into that job if you hadn’t had needed the money. We are all there for a purpose, Jack. You are all there for the money. Women… and men like me are there for company. But now, I have the company I always wanted at home, so no longer need it.” If she is being frank, it’s because she needs him to understand.

“I understand, Mrs Amberg. I no longer work there anyway. I quit it when I got the part.” _He seems calmer now._

“Good. You are too talented to be stuck at the gas station servicing sad old women like me,” she smiles at him now. He goes to protest until he looks up to see that she is teasing him.

“Thank you, Mrs Amberg. I’m so grateful for his opportunity.”

“You got the job because I saw your screentest and it was good, Jack. Not because you bedded me. Just know that. Many people on this lot can see your talent so go out and show them. All I ask is that you keep what happened between you and I private. It was what it was. I was looking for a service, and you provided it. A business exchange. Nothing more, nothing less. Okay?” She again is nodding to make sure he understands.

“Of course, Mrs Amberg. Just a business exchange. I wouldn’t tell a soul.” He looks almost offended that she would think he would tell anyone.

“Good. Now onto the real reason I asked you to my office.” His head shoots up now, shocked.

“Wha-, What? The real reason?” He goes back to a look of complete panic she notices.

She takes another draw of her cigarette. _She’s not going to beat around the bush._

“Why were you looking like such a sad puppy when I came down to the set today? You looked practically suicidal. So, what’s going on?”

She watches him closely as she sees him instantly clam up and look down at his lap, taking a drag of his cigarette.

“It’s nothing, Mrs Amberg.” He traces his thigh with his finger, still holding the cigarette.

She leans down to try see under his head.

“It doesn’t seem like nothing. You helped me once realise one of the important things in my life, which has led to one of the best things in my life happening. I would like to help you.” She smiles kindly. _She is being genuine. He helped her realise why she went to see those guys all those years. Helped her realise why she never wanted to go back. She wants to help him._

He smiles, glad that he has had a good effect on something. But still looks down at his lap.

“It’s honestly nothing, Mrs Amberg,” he looks up now and gives her an unconvincing smile.

She narrows her eyes at him.

“Fine, don’t tell me.” She takes another draw of her cigarette and puts it out in the ashtray.

“However, can I suggest perhaps speaking to Claire.” She clasps her hands again and looks at him. He raises his head now, to look her in eye, clearly confused about why he should speak to Claire.

“She’s very smart. A nice girl, who’s very emotionally intelligent. She’s your age…” she leans forward now as if to tell him a secret, “and she careeeees,” she says smiling, giving a small giggle.

Just as he attempts to respond, Miss Stinson knocks the door, “Miss Kincaid is here, Mrs Amberg. She says you have been looking for her.”

“That’s all right, Miss Stinson, we were just finishing up here anyway. Tell her to come in.”

Jack rises quickly, taking a final draw of his cigarette, and stubs it out in the ashtray on her desk. Just as he does, he makes eye contact with her.

“Think about it, all right?” She tries to persuade him again encouragingly.

“I will. Thank you, Mrs Amberg.”

She smiles and nods at him as he turns to walk out.

Ellen has already entered the room when she looks up.

“Miss Kincaid,” he nods to her as he walks by her and out of the door.

“Jack,” she says nodding in return with a huge cheeky smile, as she watches him exit.

Miss Stinson closes the door behind him, leaving Ellen and Avis in the office alone. Avis looks to Ellen seeing her looking back with raised eyebrows and an all-knowing smile.

“What? What are you smiling at?”

“Nothing,” Ellen says as she starts laughing, looking down, rubbing her nose, as she walks towards the sofa to take a seat.

Avis has already started walking around her desk and starts pointing at Ellen as she heads to the sofa opposite. _Not this again. Of course, she had told Ellen the details that she had not given Dick. She was going to strangle Henry. It’s getting nipped in the bud now!_

“Now, don’t you start as well! I told you that ended when he got the job at Ace Studios! It was only a couple of times and it didn’t mean anything! You know the drill…”

“That you’re a maneater… yah!” Ellen interrupts with a laugh.

“No! That it never gets emotional. It’s just sex! Don’t you start with this or the rumours will start up, and I will know exactly who to blame when they do!” She is sat comfortably now on the couch but is still pointing her finger seriously at Ellen.

Ellen simply leans back, holding her hands up in surrender.

“My apologies. My lips are sealed,” she confirms with a motion of locking her mouth and throwing away the key.

Avis retracts her pointed finger, crosses her legs and looks down at her lap smiling, picking at her hem.

“So, what’s been going on? Dick says you have been coaching a new actor. Said he’s been out of the business for a while.” She looks at Ellen but finds her mind beginning to wander.

 _The chat with Jack went so much smoother than she thought. She was afraid that he wouldn’t get her point. Or he might feel used? She didn’t know. Well he was being used. That was the point. She was being used for her money as well. She was starting to feel bad about going to that gas station for so long. She thought of it in a way she hadn’t before not long after she came to the realisation about why she was going there in the first place. She was using those guys. And all the guys there were pretty vulnerable, and she was expecting them to sleep with her without consequence or feelings just because she was able to do it. One thing she was afraid of was the possibility of blackmail. I mean if they were in it for the money, what would stop them looking for more. I mean look at the vultures at Tattletale, attempting to publish the photographs at her. To be fair to Jack, he didn’t seem like the type to ever do that. He was too innocent. She supposed she was most nervous that Jack would gain feelings for her which she was glad he hadn’t. I mean it wouldn’t be the first time one of them had. She would just move to the next one if she felt they were. It had only happened a couple of times. She didn’t want in that deep. She was so glad all of that was over now. There was an element of excitement to it of course, but what she had with Ace was so much better. Just the heat from how they were last night. They had been so easily worked up and had done barely nothing. She felt like a teenager again. It was ridiculous_. _But a part of her loved it._

“…. so I think he will do just nicely in the role”

Avis comes back to the room. _Shit she hadn’t listened to a word._

“Sounds great.” She has a huge grin on her face thinking of Ace.

Ellen looks at her sceptically, again with a suspicious smile.

“What’s going on?”

Avis shrugs, and smiles back. “With what?”

“You know with what. You haven’t seemed this happy since you got that manager fired from the Brown Derby. So, what’s going on?”

“Nothing. Drink?” She shook her head like she had no idea what Ellen was talking about. _It was embarrassing. Oh Ellen, me and my husband of 22 years have declared that we love each other. It sounds so stupid. Get a grip, Avis._

She stands now, hoping the lack of eye contact would distract Ellen.

“No, really? Whose small child did you kick?” Ellen is smiling, following Avis’ movements around the room.

Avis laughs at that. “No one’s,” she shouts in response laughing, as she pours herself a drink. She lifts it to Ellen, gesturing to see if she wants one. Ellen shakes her head.

“You found a new conquest?” Ellen is guessing again.

“No!” Avis shouts lifting the drink. “I told you when I told you about Jack, I’m not doing that anymore!”

Avis slowly makes her way back to the sofa.

“I told you about Dick! Come on, Avis! It’s only fair,” she looks at her with raised eyebrows.

Avis thought about it for a moment, whilst she took a seat, crossed her legs, took a sip of her drink.

“Fine.” She took another sip of her drink, and then a deep breath.

“Oh, for god’s sake,” Ellen said fidgeting in her seat, swapping her crossed legs over to the other.

“Ace and I talked yesterday… well… shouted…” She pursed her lips, and looked to the ceiling, as if she were thinking.

“Yeah, well what’s new there. How is he?”

Avis took a deep breath. “Fiiine. He tried to have a shower yesterday though and tried to take it too far, moving without taking a rest, which triggered a breathing attack…” Ellen gasped and covered her mouth.

“But he came back from it eventually. He’s fine now. The doctor is coming today for a check-up.” _She didn’t have to tell Ellen all the details._ She took another sip of her drink.

“Good. But you had a fight?” Ellen explored, not forgetting there was juice to be had.

“Well… I told him everything.” She started to rhyme them off. “That I know about Jeanne and that he knows about the affairs.”

Ellen’s eyes bulged, her mouth opening further and further.

“I told him how I’ve been feeling for years. How he has hurt me. How he didn’t even want to touch me. You know, all the stuff I’ve been crying about on your shoulder when I’ve been drunk for years.” She lifts her hand now, gesturing to her.

Ellen is still gobsmacked. “Wow, you’ve told him all that. Finally. I’ve been telling you to for years, Avis.”

Avis rolled her eyes, and put on a high-pitched voice, “I know”. She took a final swig of the rest of the glass’s contents.

“Well, what did he say?” Ellen couldn’t let it stop here.

Avis stood now, her glass having been fully drained, she needed a refill.

“Well… you know me. I didn’t really let him say anything at first.”

Ellen sighed and laughed, “You? Not letting anyone get a word in? No!”

The sarcasm did not miss, Avis. Who turned around to face Ellen on her approach her destination.

“Do you want to hear what happened or not?” She challenges Ellen.

Ellen merely smirks and gestures with her hand for her to continue.

Avis turns back towards the alcohol to pour herself another. _Ellen could wait given her sassiness today._ When she finishes, she turns and looks to Ellen daring her to say something. Ellen, however, sits like an angelic child about to take her first communion. _She knows better._

She walks to her seat again and as she is sitting, she casually declares, “he told me he loves me and that he wants me.”

She gives a huge grin when she has said it. The elation coming back to her.

Ellen gives a huge smile, also, “really?”

Avis excitedly nods and divulges the rest of the conversation that had taken place between them. _How they had both been sorry, and the lack of communication, and how he had felt so jealous and insecure. What he had thought had made him do it, and how he wanted her for years but was afraid to show it._

Ellen was so excited for her when she had finished.

“That’s brilliant, Avis. Just brilliant. I had always thought there was something still there. You never saw it. Were always incensed in his presence. But sometimes, just sometimes, you could see a little glint of desire in his eye. Regret sometimes. Anger when he saw you with other men. I tried to tell you, but you would never listen… Do _you_ believe everything he said?”

Avis nods now. “Yeah, you had to be there to see it. It was so raw. He was so full of emotion when he said it. Emotion I didn’t even realise he was capable of. It’s the most honest I think he’s ever been. The most honest he said he’s ever been with himself. We told each other everything. I told him I want to go forward with complete honesty. He said he did too.” She couldn’t stop smiling. A tear formed in her eye. She laughed a little as she lifted her hand to catch it. She took another drink of her neglected beverage. 

“How do you feel about it, Avis?” Ellen could tell she was happy but wanted her to have the chance to talk about it.

“Pathetic…”

Ellen shook her head, taken aback. That was not the answer she was expecting.

“Pathetic?” Ellen asked, ensuring she hadn’t made it up in her head.

“Yeah. I feel like such a stupid schoolgirl, who’s just been asked to the dance by the head of the football team. So stupid at my age to be so damn giddy. I’m not used to it. I’ve hid away from all emotion except anger and lust for years now.”

“There is nothing wrong with that, Avis. You’ve waited a really long time for this.” Ellen attempts to be consoling but can see Avis isn’t buying it. “I don’t think it’s like a schoolgirl, Avis. It’s more like being in love with your best friend your whole life and never thinking he would love you back and then finally he admits he does. Like everything is clicking into place.”

Avis thinks about it, “yeah. It’s just like that.” She smiles widely at Ellen.

“It probably feels like how it would have if Dick told me he loved me back” Ellen nods her head a little sadly. Avis frowns immediately.

“Oh Ellen! I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to… Here I am sitting here rubbing it in your face, when your heart is probably still broken.” She looks sadly to Ellen, genuinely feeling guilty. _Stupid, Avis. Just can’t think about others for a moment._

Ellen smiles and waves her off. “Don’t be ridiculous. I think I’m moving on with that anyway. I’m happy for you.”

Avis raises an eyebrow seductively, “oh, you are, are you?”

Ellen smiles giving herself slightly away. “It’s nothing for the moment, but if it becomes something you will be the first to know. Back to you! So, is it much better now?”

Avis eyes her suspiciously but decides to let it go for the moment.

“Yeah, it is. I just feel really giddy all the time, and we have become so much more flirtatious. And he says he’s going to woo me.” She’s giggling now. _GIGGLING. It’s nauseating when she thinks about it. She would expect it from Claire but not from herself._

“Avis Amberg, you are in love with your husband,” Ellen says smiling widely.

“I am.” She says it firmly. _It feels so different to be ecstatic about admitting loving your husband of 22 years, than from feeling the dread she felt when she admitted it a few months ago._

“You always were. You were the only one who couldn’t see it.”

“I know, I know.” Avis takes another sip of her drink. “I’m just so…” She looks to the ceiling to try and pinpoint how she is feeling. “So…”

“Happy?” Ellen offers. _That’s what she is. She’s happy._

“Yeah. My husband loves me still. I never thought this would happen.” She feels the tears begin again. Catches them again with her hand. _She doesn’t have makeup to replace the disaster tears would cause._

“I’m glad for you, Avis. To see you so happy.”

Avis smiles again, takes another sip of her drink.

“So, how did it end?” Ellen inquires with a raised eyebrow.

Avis almost chokes on her drink. Coughs a couple of times, whilst Ellen looks on laughing.

“Get your head out of the gutter.”

“With the antics you’ve got up to over the years, even when it was you and Ace in the early years? Pah-lease! You forget I have been around a very long time, Mrs Amberg. I remember the noises that once came from this very office the day Ace became head.” Ellen looks at her knowingly, whilst Avis straightens her back, closing her eyes, refusing to be embarrassed. _She remembers that day well. And she had given Ellen plenty of details about her antics in the past._

“Well, what happened?” Ellen encouraged.

“We kissed… Well I practically threw myself on him, grinding against him on his lap, but we aren’t allowed to. Doctor Friedman said he’s not allowed any exertion, including sex, until he is well enough. So, we cuddled.”

“Awwwwwwww,” Ellen can’t help but tease her. Avis laughs, though rolls her eyes, and covers her face with her free hand, embarrassed at the sappiness of it. 

“Shut up. I know it’s sappy.” She smiles again, uncovers her face, and drains the remainder of her drink.

“Well like you once asked me: ‘Wouldn’t it be nice to cuddle up at night to someone you loved?’” Ellen smiles knowingly, flutters her eyelashes. She knows Avis hates her own words being used against her.

Avis narrows her eyes at her.

“Yeash,” she says in a mock, stupid voice, and then laughs. They both do.

“It’s everything. I would recommend it to an old maid like you,” she shoots back as she quickly stands again about to walk to get another refill. Just then though her movements are interrupted by a knock to the door.

Miss Stinson enters, “I’m sorry to interrupt, Mrs Amberg. But there is someone here with a delivery for you. He says he has strict instructions to leave it only with you.”

Avis sighs and motions with her hand, “all right, let the guy in”. She looks to Ellen, rolling her eyes. However, when she looks back around, she is astonished to only see the deliveryman’s legs, as he is holding a huge bouquet of what looks like maybe 200 red roses, sprinkled with a little Babies Breath. They are the most stunning arrangement she has ever seen. Her mouth falls open as she realises the guy can’t see anything in front of him.

“Oh! Uhm… just follow my voice, back here. Just sit them on the desk. I can move them myself if I have to.” She is mesmerised by them. The delivery man puts them down, giving a puff. She quickly runs to her purse, taking out whatever the first note she can find is to give the guy a tip. _A 20 will have to do._ She gives it to him and thanks him.

“Wow, they’re really something.” Ellen approaches them and is hypnotised by them also.

_They have to be from him. Who else would give her something this stunning? If this was from some client, she swears she will kill them for getting her hopes up. But how could he pull off something this grand. They must have cost a fortune. Surely there must be a card._

“Aren’t they just? Can you see a card on your side?” She starts darting her head around this side, searching for a card.

“Over here!” She hears Ellen shout, though she can’t see her.

She takes the card from Ellen, still smiling. Opens it carefully, her heart beating rapidly. Then begins to read it, ‘ **Thinking of only you, babe. Love you always, Ace x’**

 _Well that went straight from her heart to her panties. That man. He knew all the right moves._ She smiles even bigger if it was possible, holds the card to her heart, as she looks to the bouquet again.

“Well?” Ellen is staring at her making a face, looking for an explanation.

“Who do you think they are from, the pope?” She holds the card out to Ellen to take.

“With you, it wouldn’t surprise me,” she jibes back as she takes the card. Avis makes her way towards the telephone to call Ace.

“Oh… he’s smooth,” Ellen says smiling as she points her finger to the card, tapping it.

Avis smiles at Ellen as she holds the telephone to her ear, waiting for the operator to connect her to Ace.

Finally, she hears him on the other end.

“Hello,” she hears him gruff. _Why does it sound so much sexier over the phone? How is she missing that voice when it’s only been a few hours._

“Hiii…” she says seductively.

Ellen sniggers, trying to hold her fist up to her mouth to hold in the laughter. It, however, is not hidden from Avis, who looks around at her angrily, mouthing, “shut.the.fuck.up.or.get.out.” Ellen holds her hands up in retreat and walks back over to the sofa.

“Hey, how are you?” He perks up, knowing it’s her.

Avis turns her back on Ellen, wanting to concentrate her full attention on his voice, she closes her eyes, and perches on the edge of the desk.

“Pretty great. I just got your flowers.” She starts turning the telephone cord around her finger.

“Oh, yeah. How do you like them?” He’s using his seductive voice.

“They’re stunning. Absolutely stunning,” she turns around and starts to look at them again, mesmerised.

“Just like you then…” _It was so cheesy, but it was hitting her in all the right spots._

She laughs then, “how did you even manage it, Ace?”

She can hear him taking a deep breath, “telephoned them, got them to put it on my account. Told them what to write on the note. Told them I would pay extra for it to be delivered before midday... I told you I was going to woo you.” She can hear him smiling.

“Well, you outdid yourself. It worked and I adore them… How are you feeling?”

“Just fine. Saul just left. I was amusing myself with the radio, reading my papers beforehand.”

“Oh, Saul has already been and gone. Well, what’s the verdict?” _She is actually a little worried. Would rather speak to Saul herself but this will do until he calls her later._

“He says I’m improving. He said my breathing is better than it was when I left the hospital. I told him about the shower last night and he said that it sounded like I overexerted myself. He said there are no right answers when it comes to exercise and that I need to follow what my body is telling me, so if I start breathing too raggedly, I need to take a rest and let it calm a little. However, he said a part of exercising is getting out of breath, but it will get better each time. So, he said he’s gonna send a guy tomorrow to start physiotherapy with me, so I can start exercising. He said before long I will be walking around and be able to go out the back. Once I am walking, a lot of my exercise will be swimming, because it’s got less impact on the body. You know, all that stuff. And he’s brought me a walking stick so I can actually walk to the bathroom myself. He got me to try it when he was here, and it works a treat so can finally take a shit myself. Things are looking up!”

She closes her eyes, shaking her head, and laughs at the last thing. _So Ace._

“Good! It sounds like you’re doing a lot better. I thought last night it just went a little far so, I’m glad we were right. And I’m glad you will be up walking around soon, I think the swimming will really help.”

“Yeah…” he trails off. However, he remains silent. _He hasn’t mentioned the sex. She is surprised he didn’t start off with that._

“What about the other thing?” She asks, trying to be cryptic as possible since she knows Ellen will be listening in closely. _And she is right. Ellen is._

“What other thing?” He sounds completely confused.

“You know, about the thing you wanted me to do with you when I got home?” _God, she hopes he picks up on it._

“The thing? What?” He takes a moment to think. “Oh! The sex?”

She exhales strongly, smiling. “Yes, darling. Did you ask him about that?”

“Eh... is the pope a catholic? Of course, I did. He says I can’t for the moment. Mainly because I can’t get myself overly exerted. More or less he says I can’t do anything that would result in me… well… finishing. But he said that kissing, even prolonged kissing is fine, and even petting as well. Apparently, intimacy in that regard is helpful. But I don’t see the point in even that if you don’t get anything from it so whatever. But he did say that as soon as my breathing capacity gets better, I should be able to ‘take care of myself’ is the way he put it.”

She is confused now, “take care of yourself?”

“Masturbate. He says I need to start off doing that so that I can just stop if I get too breathless, then when I’m okay after trying that a few times and my exercise increases, sex should be all right. So, a big fat zilch for the moment. But I think we should get a second opinion, even a third, fourth, and fifth, until someone says it’s okay. Just a thought.”

She laughs at that. _If she decided to go home and mounted him to fuck his brains out right now, he would let her. Zero self-control._

“I think we should just stick with THIS doctor’s orders, darling. He’s the best in his field.” She is still smiling.

“Yeah, whatever. I’m still sceptical.”

“Don’t get any ideas about…. Taking care of yourself either. If he says no, don’t even think about it!” She is laughing still, but she knows her husband. _He thinks he knows better than everyone._

“I won’t,” he says huffing.

“All right, honey. I need to go. I’ve got Ellen here.”

“All right. Tell her I said hi from my invalid’s bed.”

“I will…”

“And don’t be home late.” She smiles again. _He must be bored._

“I won’t. See you soon!”

“See ya!”

“Bye.“ She breathes a huge sigh as she puts the telephone onto the receiver. She turns around to the flowers, pressing her nose to them, giving a huge inhalation. _They are just glorious._

She looks around to Ellen, who is watching her with a big smile on her face.

“Shut up, Ellen,” she says as she moves the flowers over to the counter behind her desk.

“I didn’t say a thing!” Ellen shouts back in defence.

“Yeah, but your whole face did!” Avis shouts back, now walking towards her desk, and starts reorganising the papers the flowers had moved.

“Is he all right?”

“Yeah. He says hi from his invalid’s bed. The doctor is going to start him on some exercise.

“That’s good… Oh is that the time! I need to get going.” She looks up to see Ellen standing up.

“Where are you going now? I’ve been looking for you all morning, I want to talk to you about the movie Jeanne is in!” She throws her arms up in exasperation.

“I have to go meet with Ernie. I said I would meet him for lunch.”

Ellen standing there, completely normal. _Ernie? Why did she need to meet Ernie? She was going to go all the way to a gas station for lunch?_

“Why are you having lunch with Ernie?” Avis asks with confused look.

Ellen laughs, “it’s perfectly innocent! I just said I would go over his script with him before he shoots this afternoon.”

_Wait… what? Script? Shoots?_

“Before he shoots? Shoots what?” Her hand now comes to rest on her hip. _Why was Ellen being so cryptic._

Ellen starts laughing now, “Shoot Meg? He’s the studio head? Were you listening to a word I said earlier?”

Avis couldn’t hide her astonishment.

_Ernie shooting a scene as the studio head in Meg. Ernie was going to be in Meg. Ace was going to see Meg. Ace was going to see Ernie in Meg. Ace was going to RECOGNISE Ernie in Meg._

_Jesus Fucking Christ._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for the comments! It means so much. I nearly didn't write this at all because I thought I was a rubbish writer so thank you for your encouragement!


	10. We Need To Talk

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thoughts of Avis in italics  
> Thoughts of Ace in bold

_Her brain couldn’t take in what had just transpired. Ernie was going to be in the movie. And Ace was going to see him in this movie as the head of the studio and recognise him. For Fuck’s Sake! It’s not that she didn’t like Ernie, of course she did, everything they had in past was over now, she considered him a dear friend, but was someone trying to through marbles on the floor to deliberately trip her up._

She is standing, leaning on the desk, her head bowed, eyes closed, exhaling deeply.

“Ellen… when the fuck did this happen?” She is trying to be calm, but it is difficult to do so when you wanted to throw a lamp at the wall.

“When did what happen?” Ellen is perplexed, having no idea what she had said wrong.

Avis looked up at her becoming impatient.

“When was Ernie cast in Meg?” She spots the alcohol then. _Good, she needs another drink_. She storms over to the drinks as Ellen starts to explain.

“Uhm… officially a few days ago. Jack and Archie went to see him and told him. Raymond and Archie vouched for him to Dick and I. Said he fit the role characterisation perfectly… which he does… and he is actually very good in the role. I worked alongside him yesterday and today, rehearsing his technique.” She is nervous but doesn’t know why.

Avis is looking at all the different bottles… _which is the strongest?_ _Probably Ace’s scotch._ She picks it up, pours herself a generous measure, and downs it. Ellen watches; eyes wide, shocked at this reaction.

“Ellen?” Avis starts as she pours another scotch and turns to Ellen.

“Do you remember how Ernie and I met?” She starts downing the drink again.

“Yeah, he runs the gas station, he was the first one you started… Oh…”

“BY GEORGE, I THINK SHE’S GOT IT!” She exclaims to the room.

She walks angrily back towards the desk with a filled-up glass, swaying slightly. _Was it anger or the alcohol?_

“Avis, it’s all right. There is no way Ace will know who he is!” She attempts to smooth this over but is panicking.

Avis slams herself into the chair, sitting dishevelled, spilling the drink slightly. She pulls her hands up to cover her eyes, feeling a migraine coming on, rubbing her brow.

“No, Ellen. Ace told me last night that FUCKING LON told him about me and Ernie and the very gas station that Ernie owned. Ace went down there years ago and spoke to him, but never revealed that he knew about the whole thing to him. Ace knows exactly what he looks like.” She now places her arms on the table and crashes her head into it, attempting to block out the light.

“What the hell am I going to tell, Ace?” Her voice is muffled as she speaks into her arm. Ellen starts fussing and makes her way towards the side of the desk facing Avis.

“It’s all right,” she tries to place a hand on Avis’ arm.

Avis suddenly jumps up out of the chair when she has been touched, to look Ellen right in the eye.

“No, it’s not Ellen. I’m either going to have to get rid of Ernie, which would make me a monster, taking away the guys only chance to be in a Hollywood movie! Or I need to go home and tell my husband that the guy I used to fuck for several years, who he gets enraged about at even the thought of, is going to be in our latest picture. What am I supposed to do, Ellen? I just got Ace back. I can’t lose him again.”

“It’s all right, Avis. It’s all right. Just talk to Ace. He will understand. You gave Jeanne a fucking movie to star in, he would be a hypocrite for going crazy over this.” _That was a good point. She hadn’t thought of that. She had given Jeanne a part in her own picture._

“But it hadn’t been Ace who gave Ernie the part in good faith, he was going to think it was me who gave Ernie the part because I want him. I can’t risk this, Ellen.” Avis was nearly crying now.

“Hey, hey, hey…,” Ellen could see Avis’ tears, and quickly moved towards her, putting her arm around Avis, who hugged back into her. Ellen could tell that the four drinks Avis had knocked back in her presence wasn’t helping in this situation either.

“… It’s going to be okay. I will explain to Ace that you knew nothing about this. That you only just found out. It’s no problem.”

“No,” Avis said releasing herself from Ellen’s hug. “You can’t speak to Ace about this, he wouldn’t believe you anyway. I need to talk to him. I need to speak to Ernie, as well.” She storms around the side of the table now, towards the door.

“You can’t fire him, Avis! It’s his one shot! He shoots this afternoon.” Ellen is astonished as she looks at Avis.

Avis pauses in the middle of the room, looks at her now, enraged.

“Ellen, first of all, I am the head of this studio and can do whatever I damn well please. Second of all, I am not going to fire him! I was going to speak to him before I knew anything about this.” Avis is breathing heavily from shouting, her anger at its peak. Ellen is less than pleased at being scolded but takes it.

“Now when does he start shooting his scene?” Avis is attempting to be as business-orientated as possible again, which is not easy considering the amount of alcohol she has taken, and her ruminating thoughts.

“2 O’clock.” Ellen says matter-of-factly.

“Okay, then send him up to see me after lunch. The conversation won’t take long.” She looks down, starts ringing her hands nervously.

“Yes, Mrs Amberg.” Ellen moves angrily, storming out of the room.

Avis closes her eyes, her heart sinking at hearing her friend being so formal. _Her best friend. She doesn’t have many real friends in this world. Ellen has never been angry at her before._

“Ellen!” Her eyes are still closed. Ellen stops just short of the door, her hand on the handle, still not turning around.

Avis walks over to her slowly, tears in her eyes.

“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have taken that out on you. I’m freaking out.” Her tears begin to flow now as Ellen turns towards her, “it didn’t even get to last a day, Ellen. Not even a day.”

Ellen throws her arms around Avis’ neck, she’s a sucker for tears.

“What didn’t last a day, you idiot?” Ellen says back, patting her back. Avis throws her arms around Ellen’s back.

“The happiness. It’s always something.”

Ellen pulls back, her hands grasping Avis’ upper arms, shaking them, “it will be fine. I bet Ace will be better about it than you think. It’s your own head that’s freaking you out. Just go home and tell him tonight. Get it out of the way. Okay?”

Avis nods furiously, grimacing, her eyes closed.

“Stop panicking over what may be nothing. You already told him about the cheating. The worst of it is over. If he can take that, he can take a guy being in his studio’s pictures. Put it in perspective. Remember you were afraid to tell him how you felt before and you ignored me, and it turned out to be the best thing you ever did? Well just remember, I’m always right.” She gave Avis’ upper arms a little tussle, smiling at her.

Avis smiled briefly, and brought her hands up to dab her eyes, trying to ensure she didn’t smear her makeup. “Do I look hideous?”

“No. You’ve pulled it off!... Now I need to go down and eat lunch with Ernie so I can send him up to you before his filming.” She lets go of her upper arms, moving towards the door again.

“I will walk you down. I said I would meet Dick for lunch.” She runs over to the desk to grab her purse, her eyes catching the huge bouquet of flowers. _She had already forgotten his beautiful gesture. It made her heart melt all over._

“Come on, Avis!”

“I’m coming,” she says as she grabs her purse and walks quickly towards Ellen.

********

She’s back in her office after a very brief lunch. _Dick hadn’t much to inform her about. Mainly about every little thing that Henry had been doing to step on his toes. She hadn’t got as much enjoyment from it as she usually would do. She hadn’t been very hungry after all the drama from earlier. Now that she had eaten a little and started to sober up a little, she didn’t feel so bad about the whole situation. Realistically, she didn’t think Ace was going to leave her for allowing a guy she used to fuck to be in a movie, but she didn’t want the tension, or the fight, or the overexertion it may cause by having to tell him. However, it was her rule that she wanted the complete truth, so she had to upkeep her own bargain. She knew she couldn’t fire Ernie because Ace might recognise him. By the time Ace got back to the studio, it would be nearly ready for release anyway!_

She lights a cigarette as she ruminates. Just then, there is a knock at her door.

Miss Stinson enters again, “Mrs Amberg, a Mr West is here to see you.”

“Yes, Miss Stinson, show him in!” She takes a long draw of the cigarette, and exhales slowly. Ernie walks by Miss Stinson smiling roguishly as usual. As soon as the door closes, he walks towards her, with his arms out waiting for their usual greeting, “Avis, sweetheart!” 

She is not in so flirtatious a mood as she usually is when she sees him, but smiles, chuckling anyway, walking around her desk to receive the kiss she usually receives from him, however, this time she turns at the last minute, so it lands on her cheek. _She doesn’t know why she did that. This whole thing has just left her feeling awkward._

“Ernie,” she keeps hold of his upper arms, carefully keeping her cigarette in her grasp, as he holds onto her waist. “You little sneak! I came by to get gas today and was looking for you, and where are you but in my studio!” She shakes his arms laughing as he lets out a hearty laugh. She let’s go, gesturing for him to have a seat on the sofa, she takes a draw of her cigarette and exhales again.

“Trust me, no one was more shocked than me. And what about you? Studio head! Mrs Big Shot! I haven’t seen you since the last George Cukor party to ask you about it!” She smiles at him, gesturing to the alcohol.

“Do you want a drink? Or is that a bad move since you’re about to go shoot?”

“No, I’m all right, hon. Don’t want to inhibit my natural talent!” He gives another cheeky smile and a laugh, which she matches. She takes a seat across from him on the opposite sofa then, deciding it was best to forgo the alcohol also. She needed a clear head. _It wouldn’t stop her from enjoying this cigarette though. She needed to occupy her hands._ She took another long draw, leaning to the coffee table to dab out the ash.

“Yeah, studio head. It’s been a challenge, but it’s been great, Ernie. So, fulfilling. We’ve been making so many changes here.”

He nods, still smiling. “I can imagine. Being immersed in this world. Avis, I just wanted to thank you for the opportunity. It’s my dream… You know! We talked about it hundreds of times. That’s why I came here. Why we all come here! And to be given this opportunity…” he puts his hand on his heart, “… I’m eternally in your debt.”

She shifts slightly uncomfortably, takes another draw of the cigarette, “well to tell you the truth, Ernie. I didn’t know you were in this picture until an hour ago. It seems you need to direct your eternal debt to Ellen, Dick, Jack, Raymond, and Archie. And whilst I’m sure, as Miss Kincaid has vouched for you, you’re great in the part, I can’t say I was delighted to find out you were in the picture.”

He was taken aback now, completely offended and angry if he were honest. They had never had an issue before. Why now? Did she think he wasn’t good enough for his studio because of where he had been? What he had been? Didn’t she want the best for him, as he does for her?

“Why’s that?”

She feels awkward, takes another draw of her cigarette. _How is the cigarette already finished?_ “Well Ernie,” she starts as she leans to dab out the cigarette, “that’s what I came by the gas station to speak to you about this morning… You see, Ace has been unwell. Quite honestly, because I know this will stay between us, he had a heart attack a few months ago. That’s why I’m in charge of the studio. He had been comatose since then, until a week ago. He was brought home to the house to recover a few days ago.”

“I’m sorry to hear that,” Ernie says though he doesn’t see why this would lead to her insulting him. He didn’t know the guy, other than what Avis had told him but he didn’t have anything against him.

“Thank you. You see Ernie, Ace and I have had a lot of time together, and we’ve decided to reconciliate. He’s told me he still loves me and still wants me, and I feel the same about him. We have decided to devote ourselves to only each other, and to not stray again. So, I’m sorry but I can’t come by the station anymore for that. I’m sorry that is to say, if that leads to you or your guys losing revenue. If you struggle at all I can help you out, you’re still my friend, but I absolutely won’t be back for anything other than actual gas.”

He smiles now, can’t help himself even though he’s angry and confused.

“Is that it? That’s great, Avis. Forget about the gas station. I know how much it hurt you being estranged from him. You forget I was there when it all started kicking off. You forget that you spent a lot of our time together crying about how much you still loved him and how much you wanted him to want you again. So, I get it, hon. I’m happy for you. It’s what you’ve always wanted.”

She smiles, glad that he has taken it better than she imagined.

“Thank you. I’m glad you’re happy for me. I always felt we were still very good friends after you retired from that service. I had to have this conversation with Jack earlier, which had been awkward enough because I didn’t know if he had developed feelings or would go blabbing, but with you I know that first and foremost you are completely trustworthy or else I wouldn’t have told you everything I have over the years. Secondly, we both know how this has worked for years, Ernie. You’re a lady’s man, well mainly ladies. The last thing you ever had was feelings of romance or love for me. We both knew this was a physical exchange for money. I knew you did it for the money. You knew I did it for the intimacy. It’s probably what made us compatible for so many years and why we are such good friends now. And I am honestly ecstatic for you that you are getting your Hollywood dream and I get to see that. We both had the same dream and I’m glad you got it. I think I came across wrongly earlier, I am truly happy for you.” She is smiling at him, genuinely happy for him.

“Of course, Avis. We always knew what happened between me and you was. It’s how it should be between every client and servicer. Nothing personal. And you know I will always be discreet. I consider you a good friend. But I don’t understand what all of this has to do with you being unhappy about me getting the role in Meg?” He still sits confused, his hands in the air gesturing his confusion.

“Well, like I told you, Ace and I spoke. I’ve told him everything. I told him about the sleeping around. Paying guys for the services. However, it turns out he has thought for years that you and I were having a romantic and physical affair, not just a physical exchange. A good few years ago, he was told I was having an affair with a guy who ran a gas station and was led straight to you. He was apparently livid from what he tells me. Was ready to come down to station and nearly murder you he was so jealous. He got far enough down there that he came in and spoke to you. Said he changed his mind, spoke to you about being interested in buying gas stations or something. I only found this all out last night. Anyway, the point is that he knows what you look like, so you can imagine how I would be less than excited initially when I found out that he would see you in the movie which I still haven’t told him stars a black girl and half the theatres in the States are boycotting. It was another piece of news I now need to tell my newly reconciled sick husband.”

She got a tear in her eye again, _when the fuck would she stop being so teary!_ “I’m not going to lie, Ernie. I’m afraid to tell him, because I think he’s going to be angry about it, but the only reason I am telling you about this is so that you can be aware. Because your discretion right now is so much more important than it was before. If I can convince him to be all right with the face of the guy who fucked me for years on the big screen in his picture, then we absolutely do not need to make it worse by having everyone talking about it or strewn across the media. So, all your boys at the station need to be aware to never discuss my visits there ever. There are already pictures of me and Jack floating around that have been squashed with Tattletale, so I need to ensure Ace hears nothing more about this after I tell him about it and hopefully squash it.”

He has his head in his hands listening to it all. _She hadn’t meant to make him feel bad, or even come across as threatening._

“Jesus, Avis. I’m sorry. I can quit the role.”

_What? She hadn’t expected that._

“Ernie, that’s not what I want you to do, and…”

“No, Avis. I know how much you loved Ace then. I know how devastated you have been for years. I mean…” he coughs uncomfortably, “you used to even make me role play as him so you could feel better, remember?” She put her head in her hands at that.

_Oh my god, she had forgotten that she used to get him to pretend to be Ace. Was she so pathetic back then that she used to pay another guy to pretend to be the husband she wished Ace to be who loved her and paid her attention? She remembered having to stop because it had always been too hurtful afterwards when she returned home to an uninterested Ace. Had started to block out the feelings instead. Was always easier that way._

“No, I didn’t remember that. I must have blocked it out.” Her head remaining in her hand, in embarrassment. “Was I that pathetic?”

“Nah, you were deeply in love and deeply hurt.”

She shakes her head at that. _She needs to get back to her point._

“Look, I am going to talk to him, and work it all out.”

“No, Avis. I won’t ruin it for you. You kept me afloat all those years in that gas station. I know a lot of clientele was from your whispering gossip to women around town.”

She looks back up at him. _Yeah, she had started the rumours at parties that she had heard that about his gas station. Had told the women that apparently you only had to say you wanted to go to Dreamland. However, that’s not why he got all the clients he did. He built that business himself._

“Look Ernie, you’re not quitting the movie. I forbid it. And I’m not going to lose, Ace! He probably won’t be happy about it at first. However, I have a few tricks up my sleeve. I am going to tell him about you and Jack as I asked for and promised him complete honesty. He already knows that I slept with you both, as well as many others, and that it was only physical and nothing emotional. He knows I fell in love with neither of you. I mean it doesn’t help that you play the studio head and he literally is the studio head, and of course he is going to see the movie at some point so there is no hiding it.”

“Do you want me to speak to him? Confirm that it was never anything romantic? Because I will.” He is adamant, _not realising that it is in fact throwing himself into the lion’s den even attempting that._

“No, darling, it’s all right. In the end of the day, he too had an affair with the actress Jeanne Crandall and slept with fuck knows who else on this lot and I’ve accepted that so he’s going to have to suck it up.” She says this firmly, _to convince Ernie or herself, she doesn’t know._

“You’re sure? I will get the guys at the station to all to sign a disclaimer if I have to. Actually, that’s exactly what I’m going to do. It’s not up for question.” She smiles at that. _He was a good friend._

“Yeah, I’m sure. But I want reduced rates on gas for us both for the rest of our lives!” She smiles now, rising from her seat, trying to inject a bit of humour into the conversation.

“Thank you, Avis.” He rises also, and walks to her, grabbing her upper arms, and placing a kiss on her forehead.

“It’s fine! Now go and kill it!” She smiles and pats his side, trying to move him along.

“All right!” he shouts, enthusiastically, he turns back as he walks to the door though, walking backward now.

“Oh, see Ellen, Miss Kincaid. What’s her story? Is she single or?”

Avis raises her eyebrows, _so THAT’S who Ellen was talking about!_

“Yes, she is. But you try any of that good time boy shit with her and I will cut your dick off. She’s not that kind of lady! She’s a gem and should be treated like one!”

“Oft! Okay, okay! Hear ya loud and clear!” He opens the door, flashing one last cheeky smile as he salutes her, and exits the room.

Avis is left alone again. _So, I’m going to go home and tell Ace. That should be a barrel off fucking laughs._

***

Her day passes by rapidly, too rapidly. Saul calls and tells her everything that Ace had already divulged earlier, including about the sex, though she had not doubted he was being truthful. Saul had said he could also begin softer solid foods though it should remain as healthy as possible. She had also spoken to Saul about his stress issues, attempting to gauge if she should tell him about this. She had concluded that laying everything on him when he returned to the studio all at once may be a stress overload, triggering another heart attack, so it would be best to tell him this part just now. She had deduced that her knowing for so long without telling him could lead to even more stress and a fall out. She thought it best to tell him now that she had just found out, even if it was regarding the studio. She didn’t have to tell him about the studio part of it anyway.

When she arrives home, she feels nervous. She goes straight to the kitchen to see Gertie, telling her that she wants to have dinner in the bedroom with Ace as soon as possible, since Claire would be rehearsing late.

 _The climb up the staircase to see Ace was as ominous as she expected_ , she thinks as she removes her gloves. _She can’t help but feel the dread that has come over her. The contrast of this feeling to when she had left skipping down the same staircase this morning was making her feel sick. Why did nothing last?_

When she enters the room, she sees him sitting up in bed reading the paper, his glasses perched on his nose.

“Hello, gorgeous!”

He looks up shocked to hear her voice but smiles when he sees her huge grin.

“Hey, baby,” he throws aside the newspaper, and beckons her towards him.

_She needs him now. She doesn’t want to let him go ever. She isn’t ready for the headache that tonight is going to cause. She needs to feel him._

She walks towards him, kicking off her heels as she removes her hat pin and hat, sticking the pin back into the hat and throwing it. She drops her bag on the floor, taking off the clasp of her fur stole, letting that too drop to the floor.

“Is this a strip tease? Because I’m all for it.” He flirts with a cheeky grin. _God, she has missed him, and it’s only been this morning she last seen him. Let this last just a little bit longer._

“Yeah, a geriatric strip tease.”

He laughs as she sits on the edge of his bed, throws her arms around neck, and pulls him into an intense kiss. She presses his head harder into her, plays with the hair at the nape of his neck. He doesn’t falter in responding, running his hands up back, quickly moving them to her front to slip under her jacket so that there is less layer between his hands and her skin. Even when she loses breath from kissing him, she moves her kisses to his cheeks, to his jaw line, down to his neck, moving one arm down under his arm. He moans in response and continues rubbing her back with both of his hands. However, when she has had her fill of kissing him, she settles in his neck, inhaling there, hugging him, relaxing in his arms.

“Well that was a wonderful hello,” he smiles still squeezing her tightly, rubbing her back, venturing his strokes to under the band of her skirt and back to her shoulder blades. She hums in response.

“Long day?” He ventures. She simply nods into his neck, not pulling back. **He remembers those.** _He didn’t know the half of it._

“You want to talk about it?” She shakes her head into his neck this time in response, taking another deep breath. _No, she definitely did not, she was enjoying his embrace too much._ **It must have been a rough one.**

“Are you tired?” She nods again, still not moving. _She could happily die here._ However, this time he taps her outer thigh, “come up here, sit on my lap.”

She pulls back and looks him in eye with a raised eyebrow.

“Not like that! And take that tight jacket off. Get comfortable.”

“This feels like a ploy to bed me,” she says as she shrugs off the jacket, as he attempts to help her, he can’t help laughing in response. She then kneels onto the bed, as she begins manoeuvring herself onto his lap with his help, burying her face back into his neck, one arm slung around his back, the other resting on his chest, she settles into his embrace. _Just a little more time without any arguments is all she needed. She wanted to enjoy the happiness for a little longer._

“Just you relax, baby.” His whole body supports her exhausted form, as his right arm supports her shoulder whilst his left arm roams from her outer knee to her hip, stroking, hoping to soothe her. **He loves her when she is like this. She used to make herself more vulnerable in the beginning. Would let herself be taken care of. It had been such a long time since he had been able to provide that for her.** He feels her breathing becoming more rhythmic immediately. She lies in his embrace for perhaps 20 minutes, when there is a gentle knock at the door, followed by Gertie entering with a tray including their dinner. He sees Gertie instantly look apologetic, but he stops her, gesturing silently for her to leave the tray on the dresser by the door. Gertie nods and exits swiftly yet silently.

He gently attempts to wake her, **she’s probably starving.** He moves the hand not supporting her up to caress her cheek.

“Avis, honey, time to get up. Dinner is here.”

She gives an objecting moan, burying herself further into his neck, tightening her grip around him, bringing her hand on his chest to grip around his neck.

He smiles at that. **She’s so damn cute.**

“Come on, babe. You won’t sleep tonight.”

She groans again but pulls back to look him in the eye, hers half opened, looking groggy.

“With the way you were going I was going to let you fuck me senseless tonight. However, in this very moment, by waking me, you have ruined it for yourself and for us both. I hope your satisfied.” He laughs heartily, throwing his head back at that. She continues her mock seriousness and kisses him hard on the mouth for a second for good measure and then pulls back, moving her arm away from around his back and neck, and tries to hop off his lap. However, she ends up doing some kind of awkward half roll, kind of shuffle to navigate her way off her side of the bed, causing her skirt to rise up so that he catches a glimpse of her legs clad in stockings and garters.

He gives out a strong wolf whistle behind her. She turns to him quickly and caught him wagging his eyebrows.

“Yeah buster, this is what you’re missing now because you woke me prematurely.” She says maintaining her mock seriousness as she stands and walks around the bed towards the dinner tray. He laughs heartily again.

As she picks up the tray, he reaches for the table to place it in front of him, bending his leg under the covers to give her room to sit opposite him.

He closes his eyes quickly as she approaches the bed, “No! No! Wait… don’t tell me…” He gives a large, dramatic sniff into the air. “It’s roast lamb, with roasted potatoes and vegetables. Topped off with gravy. Then chocolate cake and your body for dessert.” She smiles then, shaking her head, and then places the tray onto his table loud enough for him to hear so he can continue his charade.

He opens his eyes dramatically and looks down gasping.

“It’s soup! I never would have guessed that. Just what I wanted! With a ROLL! A roll. Avis…” he grabs her hand quickly, as he continues looking at the plate. “It’s a roll.” He looks up to her face now, as she rolls her eyes. “Please shoot me because I’m getting excited over a roll.”

“No, I’m not done with you yet,” she leans down to kiss him quickly, as he drops her hand, she goes to sit down opposite him.

They eat whilst updating each other on their days. He talks more than she, knowing that she cannot talk about the studio. They discuss the positivity of the physiotherapist visiting as early as tomorrow, and how he will be up and moving sooner than he knows. As they finish eating, Avis becomes more antsy, knowing that the time for her to talk to him is coming. _She doesn’t know if she’s ready. Rip of the Band-Aid, Avis. Come on_.

“I’m just going to go and change into something more comfortable,” she says as she gets up abruptly, walking over to her drawers. **Oh, okay.** _Oh, maybe it’s time to pull out the new nightdress she had bought at the store the other day. She had been wanting to keep this one, but the distraction could work in her favour. Yes, that might just work!_ She grabs it and goes into her wardrobe for the matching dressing gown. He merely nods, pulling his newspaper back over to finish what he was reading previously. Just then there is a light knock on the door, with Gertie peering in offering to take the tray away.

“Thank you, Gertie. We will let you know if we need anything else.” He smiles at her. **Gertie was very good. Very attentive. They were lucky to have her for so long. He knew of so many households who went through maids more than toilet paper. They had been very lucky with Gertie.** She leaves, simply nodding.

As he returns to his newspaper, Avis appears walking past his side of the bed as she bends to pick up her stole, purse, hat, and heels. He only glances down at her, catching a glimpse of the shine of the colour shining from the satin, sees her stand up holding the items. His mouth drops open in shock. He can’t see the whole silhouette, so watches her until she discards all of the items she is holding. She moves the shoes across the room, places the stole and hat on the chaise lounge, and then goes into her purse finally to pull out her cigarette case and lighter.

“Do you want one?” She asks and then looks up at him seeing him staring at her. _Well it worked._ She smiles flirtatiously.

“Co-, come and stand over here,” he gasps softly, gesturing her to come stand out from behind the chaise lounge next to the bed so he can look at her fully.

She saunters over to where he gestures, holding her case and lighter, slightly lifting her forearms into the air

“What?” She says innocently.

She is wearing a satin emerald dressing gown, with black lace trimmings from her shoulders to the waist, where the lace hugs around her waist as though it were a corset. It also gives the illusion of a very deep V-neck not leaving much to the imagination as the buttons at the front are barely fastened, showing an extremely short emerald satin night dress, looking more like a shift, only just falling to the top of her thighs, and plunging low at her chest. He can tell her legs are bare, as they contrast against the deep emerald satin and she is shifts from foot to foot. **Is she trying to give him another heart attack? Because he is about to explode from simply the way she looks. She is absolutely breath-taking. Wait… is she even wearing underwear? He thought he just caught a glimpse there. Is she crazy?**

“You look…” he punctuates it with a puff and the raising of his eyebrows. “…heart stopping.” He grabs his heart, staring her in the eye. She gives a great smile.

“Thank you, darling… Do you want a cigarette?”

He shakes his head now, “I need some time for my lung to recover from all the air you just sucked out of them.” He smiles and winks at her.

She laughs, still nervous, “do you mind if I do?”

“Not at all,” he is smiling at her. **Why does she look so hesitant? He thought she would be pressed up against him now to tease him.**

She walks over to the chaise lounge again, turning her back to Ace, taking out a cigarette and lighting it. She throws the cigarette case and lighter onto the chaise lounge, as she takes a huge draw of the cigarette, closing her eyes, looking to the ceiling. _Come on, Avis. Put yourself out of your misery._ She gives a huge exhale and turns back to him as she rubs her forehead, looking still to the ceiling. She looks down him now, he’s still smiling at her but is looking sceptical.

“We need to talk, Ace.” She blurts it out, takes another draw. She looks worried.

“Oh?” **Shit. What’s happened now? That was never a good start to any conversation. Was his happiness about to come crashing down around him? She looks too distressed. Something bad has happened. He can feel it.**

“I’ve got something to tell you and your best not interrupting me. Just allowing me to get it all out or I never will.” She looks at him again, seeing if he agrees.

“Go ahead…” he says, shuffling in his position.

“Okay. I wasn’t even sure if I should tell you because it’s about the studio…”

 **The studio.** He exhales strongly, completely relieved, **he could take the news being about the studio. About her is what he couldn’t take. But why was she so nervous then?**

“… but I don’t want to bombard you with everything when you come back and I only found this out today. We promised we weren’t going to keep things from each other and would be completely up front and honest.” She stops then, takes another big draw of her cigarette.

“Avis, please just put me out of my misery.” He is pleading, beginning to breathe deeper. **This is torturous.**

She exhales again, “okay, so today I found out that whilst I was here at home with you for the past few days, Dick and Ellen gave the green light for an actor to take on the role of the studio head in a new movie we are shooting right now. However, it wasn’t until this afternoon that I found out that the guy who has been cast is Ernie. The guy who owns the gas station, that you thought I was having an affair with. But you can ask Ellen, she will confirm that I knew nothing about it, Ace.”

His mouth drops. _Shit, here we go._ **He’s been what?!**

“So, he’s going to be in the movie. I thought about pulling him, but Ellen said he’s very good in the part, and also since we haven’t been together in years, we are actually very good friends. He has always wanted a shot at Hollywood and never got it, which I get, obviously. I still go to the gas station to get only gas because he gives me it for cheaper rates. We spoke this afternoon actually. He said he’s going to give you and I cheaper rates for the rest of our lives. How about that?! And it actually seems like him and Ellen have taken an interest in each other, which is mad. But I want to reiterate that nothing romantic or emotional ever happened between us. He actually said he would tell you himself that he would vouch for that, and it was purely physical, nothing romantic. No love or anything.” She looks at him expectantly, breathless from speaking so rapidly, but his expression is blank.

**Wow, he wasn’t expecting that. That fuckin’ guy in his studio, in an Ace picture, working alongside his wife every day. That’s a lot.**

“I think I’ll have that cigarette now…”

 _That’s all he’s going to say._ She picks up the case and lighter, walking to him, taking one out for him, passing it to him, and lighting it. He inhales strongly and exhales again. She goes back over to the chaise lounge. _Feels more confident when she’s over there._

“Like I said, there was nothing there, Ace. Actually, when I spoke to him today, I told him I had reconciled with you and that I wanted to ensure his silence, so it didn’t become a scandal or anything. He not only offered the he would get the guys in his gas station to sign a disclaimer about not being allowed to talk about anything I did there, but he said he…”

“Wait, what did you do at the gas station?” He looks at her confused.

She takes another draw of her cigarette, exhales when she started to explain, “that’s where you go to ‘hire’ the guys. The guys that I hired. He runs it. You go to his gas station, and tell them you want a guy, and they provide one. They all do it. It’s also just a normal gas station as well, obviously.”

His eyes go wide, and he takes another draw, exhaling strongly as he brings a hand up to his head.

_Shit, he’s not going for this._

“But like I was saying, he said that he was happy for me. He was one of the first guys I went to when I didn’t know what I was feeling, and you weren’t around. I told you that. He said that he remembered how much I loved you, and how much I wanted you and wanted you to want me, and he was happy I got what I always wanted. He said I used to sit and cry to him about it, he even…” She paused, took a drag of her cigarette. _This was going to be hard._ He watched her intensely, taking another drag of his own cigarette. **He even what?**

“He even reminded me of something I forgot I used to get him to do,” she closes her eyes, embarrassed.

“Avis, stop,” he shakes his hands, “I don’t think I want the details.” He takes another drag of his cigarette.

“No, no, no. It’s not like that. I used to get him to role play as you. To pretend he was you. I used to get him to speak to me like you used to, try to do your accent. It was an acting job for him. I would make him call me his wife and say all the things I wanted you to say. I would call him, Ace. It worked in the times I was most desperate for you but would always lead to a crying fit after because it wasn’t you. So, I stopped doing that and started shutting down those emotions instead.” _That was hard to say out loud._ **God, is that how hurt she was. She used to get a gigolo to pretend it was him, she wanted to feel loved by him that badly. Fuck.**

“Okay… I suppose…” he huffs, takes another draw of his cigarette.

However, as she exhales, she interrupts him, “there’s more,” she says quietly.

He looks shocked again. **More? More than that?** _She takes his silence as her cue to continue._

“One of the guys who worked for him, the one who I told you about, who I said was really good to me. He talked to me about why I did it, innocent young guy.”

“The one who you told that you only did it because you wanted me to notice?” He is trying to make sense of all this. She takes another, drag again, exhaling.

“Yeah! The one who made me realise again why I was doing all this, and ultimately led me to stopping it, and telling you,” she begins walking to the bedside table now, puts out the cigarette into the ashtray, turning to sit on the edge of her side of the bed across from him.

“Well, he’s also in the picture… The male lead in fact.” She looks worriedly at him.

“He’s the male lead? When was he cast?” Ace says quickly, looking upwards. **Was this a picture of Avis’ gigolo’s or what? Was the whole cast gigolo’s?**

“Just after you put me in charge of the studio. But I want you to know that first of all, he was the best of everyone that had a screen test, genuinely. That’s the only reason he was chosen. He has true talent, everyone thinks so. Especially Ellen pushed for him to get a screen test, and it was good! However, it was also at the time that I had found out you had been having an affair with Jeanne, so I wasn’t exactly unwilling to cast someone who I had slept with in the role, considering you had kept Jeanne on contract for years.” **Touché.**

“Why didn’t you tell me before now?” He is shaking his head, leaning over to put out his cigarette. _He’s angry._

“I was told not to speak to you about the studio, and to be honest, with everything we have been going through this past week, it never crossed my mind. But I am telling you now because I want to be open and honest. I told you before. I had no romantic relationship with any of these guys. Nothing at all. Just wanting them to be you.” She finishes lifting her arms and dropping them to the bed.

He sits silently thinking. _Please say something._

“Are these two the only two guys who slept with on the lot?”

“Yes, absolutely.” He pauses again, thinking.

“I’ll be honest, I don’t know what to say.” He clasps his hands looking at them. _Oh my god. It was happening._

“Well, what are you thinking?” She tries to encourage him, hopefully. He pauses at first.

“I’m thinking that I don’t know how I feel about the guy I probably have grown to hate more than anyone else in the entire world, being on the screen under a picture with my name on it, and on a studio lot around you all day. You need to understand that every time I even think of that guy, I think of you writhing underneath him, Avis. But it’s only been over 24 hours since I found out there was nothing more than physicality between you. As for the young guy, I’ve never seen him. But am I delighted about a guy who took so much emotional interest in you and fucked your brains out being the male lead in a movie with my name on it? Not really.” He nods, still thinking. _Well he wasn’t throwing things around, so it was going better than she thought._

“I understand why you would be thinking that way. I was the same when I found out about Jeanne. Imagine what it was like sitting in the break room, to have Jeanne approach me and tell me that you had a heart attack when you were fucking her, and that you had a 10-year affair. But I listened to her story, Ace. I believed that she felt backed into a corner. I felt empathy for her. I understood her. Is it still hard seeing her sometimes? Well sure. But I have for the most part processed it and understand what happened in the last 10 years. And also, have I wondered how many other girls on that lot you have fucked? The ones who won’t look me in the eye. The ones who are a bit too thick to have a job there. Abso-fucking-lutely, but I’m not going to drive myself crazy trying to figure it out? No. I’m not. And I’m not going to lie to you now, I kept Jeanne on her contract, I have also worked alongside Ellen to give her a picture where she will be starring in the lead.”

**Shit he hadn’t even considered what happened to Jeanne once she told Avis. He was a true jackass.**

“And I’m not only doing that because I can objectively see talent in that studio, but also you and I with our bullshit have taken a lot of people on our journey of misery. We can’t blame them when we ultimately created them. They all have their own lives, are their own people. Jeanne shouldn’t be a victim of our war with one another. All the girls you’ve fucked shouldn’t be victims. Ernie shouldn’t be a victim. Jack shouldn’t be a victim. All the other guys shouldn’t be either. Because they were just giving us what we wanted, likely so they could also get what they wanted. Are we going to continue to punish them forever, when we have decided to forgive one another? I love you, Ace, with all my heart. They other guys don’t even cross my mind, especially Ernie and Jack, I feel nothing when I see them, and I hope you feel the same way about Jeanne, and those other girls now. I just think it’s right to give back to all of those other people we both took advantage of. Those young girls just want to get ahead, and the guys I was with were just vulnerable and needed money and look what they had to do to get it. And we did exactly the same as them to get what we wanted, should we also feel the same wrath.” She gets up on her knees now and crawls across the bed until she is nose to nose with him, grabbing his face on either side. She is bursting with emotion now, eyes filling.

“I want you, Ace. I’ve only ever wanted you and now I have you, I would kill to not lose you again. That I promise you.”

He let out a deep sigh and brought up his hands to cover hers. He pulled them down to his mouth and kissed them.

“I understand. You’re right. We have had a lot of casualties in our war with one another and we shouldn’t punish them for it. We shouldn’t destroy other people and not give them deserved opportunities because of us. We have each other now, so let others go out and live their lives. If I didn’t agree with you, I would just be a big fat hypocrite. And you are the head now, so this is your call, and I trust you to make it. It will just take some getting used to. Just the thought of that guy,” he’s getting angry again.

“Do you still want Jeanne or any of those other girls?” _She is almost afraid of the answer._ She drops her hands to his shoulders; he slides his arms around her waist as he shakes his head.

“Absolutely not.” He doesn’t miss a beat, answering immediately, _which is a relief._

“Well then why do you think I want Ernie or any of those other guys when I have you?” She smiles, looking into his eyes, tilting her head slightly.

“It’s not you I’m worried about. It’s them.”

“It takes two to tango. It doesn’t matter if the whole of the US Army wants me, I need to want them back for it to happen. And contrary to your mind, not everyone wants me,” she laughs then.

“Not everyone has seen you in this nightdress,” he says seductively, licking his lips. They stare at one another, heated, until he takes the plunge and his lips crush to hers. She falls deeper into the kiss, falling to his side, still clinging to him, pulling her down with him. He begins to roll over, kicking his covers off, not losing contact with her mouth.

She smiles against his mouth, as she feels his weight press over her body. _This is what she has wanted for so long. Just to feel his weight on top of hers._ She instantly opens her legs to him, her nightdress riding up. She kisses him deeper, their tongues warring as she squeezes her arm tighter around his neck and pulls harder on his back so he will fully lie upon her. He is busy trying to push her dressing gown off her shoulder. He tries to remain on his elbow so he does not crush her, as his left hand runs up her bare leg, finding its way under her nightdress to stroke her behind. **I knew she wasn’t wearing underwear.** He groans deep into her mouth in reaction to that, “Oh, baby. You’re so beautiful.” She moans into his mouth in return. _He is everything._

She was gyrating her hips into him again, with him responding by fondling and pulling on her behind, encouraging her to press further into him. **If he could just get his pants down, they could do this.** She feels his hand wandering into her centre. _Oh god. She wanted him to touch her there. To rub against her clit and give her that direct friction she couldn’t get from rubbing against him. But she had promised not to do this._

Just then he leaves her mouth, having successfully pushed her dressing gown to one side, he has a new target. He kisses down to her chin, along her jawline, moving down her neck now. **How could he ever compare this lust with the person he loved to the others?**

“Avis, baby. ***breath*** You’re so ***breath*** sexy. This is ***breath*** just everything ***breath*** I ever wanted.” She can hear his ragged breathing through is words. _They really need to stop. But a nip with his teeth quickly drives that thought away._

“Ace, darling. Mhmmmm. Aceee, I’ve waited so long for this.” She is extremely breathless herself. Just as he reaches his goal of the top of her right breast, he kisses, sucks, and bites gently at it.

“Accceeee. We need to stop.” However, her hand pushes him deeper into her breast when he reaches the hard peak of her nipple through her nightdress, as she continues gyrating her hips, bringing her leg to curl around his hip.

“Yesss baby. Right there,” she shouts, feeling herself build up, as he pulls down the top of her nightdress with his teeth, licking his tongue in circles around her nipple.

“Tell me what you want, baby.” He growls into her breast, his other hand finally finding her clit. She lets out a deep moan, her head throwing back.

“Oh Ace, God. We need-, we need to stop. You’re breathing-.” She pushes at his shoulder now, getting him to look up at her. He’s dishevelled, confused.

“No baby, we can go on. I’m okay.” He pushes up towards her mouth, pressing his hardness against her, never stopping rubbing her clit, giving her an intense kiss, exploring her mouth again, she accepts his ministrations as her eyes close, bringing her arms back around his neck. _She wants all of him. Every inch. It’s so intense._

He’s rubbing her clit in circles now, teasing further down around her opening, and then moving back up to circle around the clit, driving her crazy. Only a few seconds more and it will all be over for her. She can’t help the consistent gasps that are involuntarily leaving her mouth through kisses. “Don’t stop…” she whispers as he moans into her mouth.

_No, Avis. You need to stop this._

She pulls back from him again, pushes his shoulders, however, he continues his circling of her clit, bringing his other hand up to stroke her face.

“We need to stop now, you know what Saul said,” she’s extremely breathy herself now, can barely get the words out as her eyes roll into the back of her head at his perfect movements, and her head pushes back into the pillow harder.

Ace takes his opportunity to kiss her neck now, hitting that sweet spot at her pulse point, trailing his hand across her chest with soft caresses.

“He said I couldn’t finish, but he didn’t say you couldn’t. Listen to my breathing, baby. It’s fine.” _His breathing did sound all right. It wasn’t ragged. And what he was doing with his hands, with his mouth._

“Oh fuck, Ace, fuck! More!” She’s screaming now, seconds away from falling over the edge. Trying to fight against it. “I said I would wait for you,” she’s panting.

“I think you’ve waited long enough, honey. Come for me, Avis. Just let go.” _It is all getting too intense. She’s trying to hold on now, but she doesn’t think she could now if she tries. **Just let go, baby.**_

She can’t help the moans that keep releasing with each turn of his fingers.

“Don’t stop, darling, don’t stop,” she shouts through pants.

“You’re all I ever wanted,” he whispers into her neck, continuing his assault on her pulse point. With her right leg wrapped around him, and the other open to give him easy access, her right arm wrapped around his back, as the other reaching above her to press against the cushioning of the headboard, she comes with a bang.

As goes over the edge, she screams, “Ohhhh! Oh My God, Ace!” He takes that as his cue to enter two fingers into her, feeling her pulse around him, keeping this thumb rubbing her clit. **If he can’t be in there properly, he would give her the next best thing.** She responds by gyrating on his hand, pushing him in deeper. **At least she will at least feel filled as she comes.**

However, the most important thing in his mind is to see her face. He pulls back quickly when she starts tumbling to watch her facial reaction. **He had imagined this at times over the years remembering what it looked like. Her head thrown back, her mouth wide open, changing from shock to a smile and back, moaning in passion when she was at her height. Grasping at nothing on the headboard for stability. Her nails scratching against his shoulder. This is what he had missed seeing. This is what was his biggest turn on.**

“That’s it, baby. Let go. You’re so beautiful,” he whispers to her, doesn’t even know if she can hear him. However, as she gets louder in her moans, he’s quick to cover her mouth in a heated kiss, attempting to silence her. **There are still people in the house, even if it is only Gertie.** He wants to feel this moment of love and lust alongside her. It’s the next best thing he can get to having her completely. He remains kissing her with his fingers inside her as she comes down. As the pulsing stops within her, he withdraws from her, trailing his hand up her sensitive thigh, hip, side of her body. He continues his kisses, though they become more loving and less desperate as her breathing evens out.

When he finally draws back, he looks at her. **This moment was always one of the most he missed, when she was most pure and beautiful. When Avis lies sated, eyes closed, completely relaxed from an orgasm.**

_Well, that was unexpected for how she thought her night would turn out when she was pacing in her office in fear this afternoon._

She opens her eyes now, smiles widely, and kisses him once, twice, again and again, her arm wrapped around his neck still, holding him to her mouth.

“That was… something else. You didn’t have to do that,” she says withdrawing from his mouth, dropping her leg from his waist to the side of the bed, bringing the hand above her head to stroke his cheek.

“I wanted to. For me as well as you,” he says as he kisses the finger donning her wedding ring.

“You couldn’t have gotten anything from that.”

“I got plenty.” Smirking, reversing her hand so he can kiss the ring itself.

“We aren’t making a habit of this.”

She uses the hand he is kissing to pull his face back to hers for another kiss, wrapping both arms around his neck fiercely, forcing his weight fully onto her. However, she soon pulls back and looks into his eyes.

“I love you,” she whispers, tears in her eyes. “MY GOD DO I LOVE YOU!” She shouts into the bedroom as loud as she can.

They laugh as she reaches up to give him another long kiss.

“I love you too, baby.” He gives another quick kiss and then moves off her, lying on his back, realising he must be crushing her.

“And see I didn’t even breathe that heavily. A true champion in your midst.”

She follows him, lying on his chest, stroking past his pyjama shirt to touch his skin.

“You didn’t. I feel horrible though, that I can’t do anything in return. You must be struggling.” She strokes her hand rhythmically across his chest.

“I’ll be fine as long as you don’t touch my lower half.” He laughs then, she follows though through an “aww”.

She gives a deep breath, completely content.

“Do you still want to listen to that radio programme then? I can at least give you that entertainment?” She looks up at him expectantly.

He looks down to her, “you can, but watching you lose yourself in passion was pretty entertaining if I’m honest.”

She smiles up at him widely, leans up to kiss him fiercely, then sits up, leaning over his chest to the radio.

“What’s the station?”


	11. I cheated...

The next day at work passed by rapidly for Avis. The stares from everyone on the lot at her eager smiles and attentiveness to greet them still had not abated. She had given the green light for another movie. A war movie. The second world war. She thought Ace would be happy about that. She had decided to take the jump on it ahead of other studios. She wanted to be one of the first to depict it. The screenplay was based on the novel of a young American soldier’s story. A relative of the screenwriter, she believed. The young man had been at Normandy and fighting until he was present at the liberation of one of the camps. She had been very moved by it. She knew that many still didn’t believe that the Jewish Holocaust had been a thing. However, her mother still had family in Europe, who had seen it first-hand and lost many to it. But surely people must realise that the idea of millions of Jews being held in work and death camps was too far-fetched to create out of thin air. If she could use the medium of film to help convince others she would, and she would allow a huge budget for it too! She had been told by Dick of first-hand footage that had been circulating in various trials. She wanted to get her hands on it and show it to the public. She wanted people to know the truth! She knew Ace would feel the same. She couldn’t wait until she could tell him about it.

She had also finally got to have her meeting with Ellen to discuss the casting for Jeanne’s movie, though Ellen had encouraged less talk about the studio and more talk about Ace and what had happened last night. _She was so relieved that Ace was better about Ernie and Jack being in the movie than she had expected him to be. It was a true weight off of her shoulders that he wanted to give them a chance. She could understand why he would struggle with it. It was hard to get rid of a feeling of resentment towards someone that you hated. Hell, her resentment towards Ace’s sister when the bitch had tried to talk Ace out of marriage to her had been proof that for her. She was always a self-righteous, conceited little bitch. Her resentment towards Jeanne and the few suspecting girls on the lot had been present at first. Had taken some time to ignore. However, with reasoning and time, she felt much better about it now. But she was glad that Ace could see that they had created so many casualties along the way. She was looking forward to a more harmonious life with him now. She had nothing left to hide from him, she was a complete open book. Well apart from having to tell him about Meg. But he would get over that, wouldn’t he?_

The talk she had with him wasn’t the only thing Ellen had gotten out of her. Her all-knowing smile as an answer to “How did it end?” had taken care of that. Last night had been a pleasant surprise. _She hadn’t thought of how it would be when they finally got intimate… hadn’t had the chance to. They had just kept falling into their lust for each other. It was never planned. That was a good sign though, right? That they still wanted each other so much. She would rather that they were like teenagers who couldn’t keep their hands off of each other, than a sad old couple who had their Saturday night mechanical fornication after a boring, forced weekly date night. She still felt so guilty letting him continue though when she wasn’t able to offer him anything in return. But she didn’t think she would have been able to stop him if she had really wanted to. He was so good at what he did. She hadn’t felt passion like that in years. It was beyond anything she had dreamed it would be over the years when she had been at her most intoxicated to allow any fantasies about a reconciliation between them. She couldn’t imagine what it would be like when they could actually make love properly. When both of them could take pleasure from it, and she could really make it up to him. Jesus Christ was she going to make it up to him. Maybe she should go and buy another lingerie set to prepare for the evening when it came. Though she didn’t want to blow his mind so hard that it would trigger another heart attack. She was sure that that evening would be anxiety ridden anyway, worrying about his heart. She would cross that bridge when she came to it. She was just so elated that what had happened so far was as intense and fulfilling as she had hoped it would be. She wanted him over and over, and she wasn’t afraid to hide that fact from anyone. It was the most natural feeling in the world._

She had finished work a little later than expected today. Her meeting with Dick regarding the war movie had ran on a little longer than she thought it would. She had rushed home, pretty sure she had driven through a red light, not wanting to delay dinner with him any longer. _Why was driving in Los Angeles so frustrating? She was sure they had put up even more traffic lights. It had put her in a positively furious mood._ Due to this she enters in the front door like a wrecking ball and is met by Gertie running into the foyer.

“Good evening, Mrs Amberg,” Gertie declares breathlessly, offering to take Avis’ lavish coat.

“Hello, Gertie. How is Mr Amberg?” She can tell she is being harsh with Gertie as she is extracting her arms from her coat, moving her purse from hand to hand as Gertie pulls at it from behind her.

“Just fine, Mrs Amberg. He’s in his room,” she says as she shakes it, folding it over her arm.

“Well where else would he be?” She scoffs angrily at that, “and how was his physiotherapy?” She looks to Gertie worriedly as she pats at her hair.

However, the response comes from the landing above her.

“Just fine.”

She looks up quickly to see Ace standing in his black silk pyjamas at the railing on the upper landing, facing her, that flirtatious smile hitting her like a ton of bricks.

She smiles, laughing exasperatedly. _There went the bad mood._

“What are you doing out of bed?” She begins to walk towards him. However, she turns back quickly towards Gertie, “we will have dinner in the bedroom when you’re ready, Gertie! Thank you.”

She starts up the staircase, never removing her eyes from him.

“What can I say?” He turns to face her, not moving from his position, holding his hands up, beckoning her, “physiotherapy day one and I’m cured!”

She walks towards him now, directly into his arms, and stretches up to give him a peck on the lips.

“You’re cured?” She is astounded. _Surely not?_

“Nah, I’m not cured,” he turns around towards the bedroom, placing his arm over her shoulder as she wraps her arm around his waist. They begin walking to the bedroom. _Well he is walking, slowly and slightly stiff, but he is walking. She can’t even hear ragged breathing._ “The physiotherapy was really good though. The guy’s all right. Nice guy. From Chicago. Best in his field of course. I told him I want to come back every day, for longer. Will pay him top dollar. I need to get out this bed, this house, Avis. I’m ready to breathe fresh air again, so the quicker I can move around, the better.”

They approach the bedroom and he gestures for her to enter ahead of him. _Ever the gentleman._..

“So, it went well! I can’t believe how well you are walking,” she stands back and watches as he walks towards the bed, steadily.

“Yeah, I know. Would never have thought it. I even got to shave today,” he slaps his face for good measure as he sits on the bed. “It’s been a few days. Back to looking dashing!”

“I noticed…” she says as she walks to perch on the edge of the bed. “Very alluring!”

He laughs at that, gets himself more comfortable on the bed.

“So, what happened? What did you do in the physical therapy?” She lies across the bed now, perched on her elbow.

“Uhm… a lot of it was breathing exercises. He was teaching me how to control my breathing and breathing deeply when I move. He said I’m just not used to the movement and that when you don’t move, like I haven’t because I was in the coma for so long, that my lung capacity had decreased so I get out of breath easier. He said if I did breathing like this…” He then showed the example of deep breathing he had been shown, “…then I would be able to catch it much better instead of spiralling like I did the other night. But the breathing exercises were like this…”

He gives another example of quicker intakes of breath and then longer ones, “then he said that will increase my lung capacity in no time.”

“That’s good!” She had a huge smile on her face watching his examples of the breathing. _Anyone else who knew him would think he were mad, breathing like a banshee_. But she was able to stifle her laughter so as not to discourage him.

“Yeah! So, he says I need to practice that, and then he got me moving around. Showed me all the ways that I could be more secure on my feet with my balance. Keeping my feet further apart, wearing hard sole shoes or slippers, my posture. Things like that.” She nods along, listening intently to everything he says.

“He brought this contraption for me to hold onto so I could get used to walking around and then we took it anyway and I was walking myself. He said that the more I do it, the better it will get. It’s not like he’s teaching me to walk for the first time. He just said I need to get used to it, so he said I should walk around as much as I can. Tomorrow we are going to tackle the stairs, so tomorrow I will be able to see my dining room and I can’t wait. Maybe we should have people over for dinner tomorrow! Get Claire home for dinner for once. Ask Dick and Ellen. Nothing fancy.” He gave her a huge smile when he finished.

“Really? You think you’re ready for that? What if you’re tired from moving around so much?” She furrows her brow. _She’s glad that he’s so excited but she doesn’t want him taking it too far._

“Yeah! I will sleep before they get here if I get tired! I need to feel normal again, Avis.” He grabs her hand, stroked it with his thumb. “I just want to sit at a real table to eat again. Have conversation with more than one person at a time, not that I haven’t enjoyed our conversations. To sit on a sofa, not a bed. Maybe even venture to the back garden to sit so that I can breathe in some fresh air. I will eat whatever you want! I will not take a sip of alcohol. You can even drink in front of me. I just want to have a little normality, ya know?” He looks down like he’s embarrassed. **I just want to feel like I’m not a fuckin’ invalid anymore. Feel like a man, not a patient.**

_She wishes he weren’t so downtrodden. She doesn’t see how it could do any harm? He would be sitting the whole time._

“All right.”

He looks up at her immediately, smiling.

“Yeah?” His voice is higher now with excitement. _He’s just like a child who’s been told he’s going to Coney Island_. She smiles back at him, stroking his hand back.

“Yeah, but don’t get your hopes up. They might have plans for tomorrow night.”

“Okay, but try and convince them even if they do, yeah?”

“All right. In the meantime…” she removes her hand from his and moves to get up from the bed, “you’re stuck with this old bat tonight, so how about we have dinner and play one of your board games. We can put the radio on and listen to some music. I want to have a bath at some point tonight as well.” She is moving around the room, removing her jacket, kicking her heels off. 

“Sounds good. But you’re not an old bat… more of a young, cute, bat,” he smiles at her, waiting for her to react.

She doesn’t disappoint. She whips round at him, still in the act of removing an earring, mouth wide, acting mock offended.

“Well, keep talking to me like that and you’re going to get me all hot and bothered again,” she smiles seductively and turns back to her vanity.

“I encourage that. I’m definitely not stopping you.”

“Well I am,” she says walking over to him, kneeling on the chaise lounge, “I told you that we weren’t making a habit of last night.”

He grimaces his face, “spoil sport.”

She flutters her eyelids, just as Gertie arrives with dinner.

Dinner is uneventful as usual. _She will be glad herself to be eating back at the dinner table with him tomorrow. She just feels bad because a good host wouldn’t serve her guests what she serves him. She will get her guests something enjoyable and eat the same as him if it makes him feel better. So, he doesn’t feel like he’s in it alone._

After dinner is finished and removed, she runs downstairs to make a phone call to Dick and Ellen to ensure they are available.

He remains, telling her that he will set up cribbage for them.

However, as she walks in the door declaring, “Dick and Ellen are available so they are going to come around…”, she is stopped in her tracks when she closes the door and turns to him, where she sees there is no cribbage set up at all. She gives a huge gasp as what she sees is him sitting on the bed next to the most beautiful dark brown sable fur coat she’s ever seen.

“No! You didn’t!” She says very quietly, in almost a growl, her hands still covering her mouth. He simply sits smiling playfully.

“Is that for me?” She starts walking slowly towards it.

“Well it’s not for me! And it’s not a rug, although its long enough to be!”

She runs her hand across it when she finally approaches. Opens it to see the most beautiful burgundy silk lining with a gold ‘AA’ embroidered into it and a number of sewn in pocket compartments.

“It’s beautiful.”

She opens up the other side of the coat and see’s the label. She retracts quickly from it, moaning aloud again, covering her mouth with both hands.

“Ace! It’s Dior! It’s fucking Dior!”

He smiles again, picks it up at the collar, and stands with it.

“It is in fact Dior. They had your measurements from when you got the mink from them, and I know you’ve always wanted a sable, and this one is a Russian sable. The best of the best. Well that’s what Christian said.”

As she turned around to slip it on, she hugs it to her. It comes down to her mid-calf. _It fits like a glove._

“A fucking RUSSIAN SABLE FROM DIOR! But how? How did you do it?” She walks to her mirror in the corner of the room, putting her hands in the pockets and twisting from side to side.

“Easy,” he says as he sits back on the bed, watching her, “I called Christian a couple of days ago, told him that I wanted a custom made from you, that you were still the same measurements, and that I wanted it on the next plane. He told me he was going to get his guys to work around the clock to get it made. It arrived here a half an hour before you got here. Was cutting it fine.”

She pulled the fur collar up so that it was surrounding her face, as she turned around to look at him with the biggest smile on her face.

He smiles, “you like it then?”

She walks towards him slowly, coming to stand between his legs and putting her hands around his neck, “I love it so much that if you were allowed to, you would already be inside me, because I would have jumped you.”

He splutters, laughing then. **He wasn’t expecting that.** _She’s deadly serious._

“Until that is possible…” she leans down, kneeling one leg on either side of his hips, and gives him a deep kiss, her tongue penetrating past his mouth so that she can war with his. He responds eagerly, his hands finding their way under her coat so that he can wrap his arms around her waist. She pulls back breathless, as does he. She leans back sitting on his thighs.

“How do you do it? How are you so damn smooth? First the flowers and now this. You’re pulling out the big guns so soon that you’re going to have nothing left to give.”

“Oh, I have a few more tricks up my sleeve,” he says as he gives a slap to her behind.

“Oft!” she shouts at being spanked and moves to get up off his lap. She moves back to the mirror in the bathroom now, again turning from side to side. He simply watches her, glad that she’s so happy with it.

She walks back in, slipping it from her arms, taking the hanger from the bed.

“Honestly darling, I absolutely adore it. You really shouldn’t have. Not that I’m sorry you did, but honestly, don’t get me anything else. I don’t need wooed. I’m sold. You got me!” She walks to place the fur into her wardrobe, finding an unused dust cover to place it inside so it doesn’t get damaged.

“That… I cannot promise you.”

She shakes her head, looking back at him, still smiling.

“I can’t wait to show Ellen!”

They decide then to break out the cribbage board she had bought. She turns on the radio, delighted when the Andrews Sisters fill the room. She sings along and jigs around the room as she moves to get his cigars and her cigarettes. She decides that they are going to use the bed as their table this time _. Means she can lay across the comfortably as they relax, and she can get herself in the perfect environment to beat him!_

They play for perhaps an hour, with the score having yo-yoed back and forth so that they are more or less even, when there is a knock on the door.

They both look up to see Claire enter. Everything she enters to is something she has never experienced before. Bing Crosby fills the room, the room smells horrid, and there is a thickness of smoke in the air, as her father sits up on the bed, arched over something in the middle of the bed, a cigar hanging out of his mouth, looking at an array of cards he is holding up. Opposite him is her mother, sitting on the bed, legs wide open, holding cards with a cigarette sticking out two of her fingers, looking extremely stern in concentration as she too leans over whatever is in the middle of the bed.

“Hiya honey,” she hears her father say smiling at her, turning his attention completely to her.

“Oh, hi, Claire,” her mother gives a brief greeting, as she turns her attention directly back to her cards immediately.

“Hi…” Claire enters the room, approaching the bed apprehensively, “what are you two doing?” As she moves further in, she sees the wooden board with different coloured plastic sticks sticking out of it.

“I’m trying to beat your father at Cribbage, so please don’t distract me,” Avis says as she doesn’t remove her eyes from her cards, biting her lip, contemplating her next move. However, Ace is simply chuckling, looks to Claire and winks.

“Yeah, dream on, Avis. You couldn’t beat me on your best day!” He raises his eyebrows smiling, as Claire laughs, and then quickly moves his expression to unmoving and challenging when Avis looks up at him.

“Oh yeah?!” Avis takes the bait. “Well how about that!” she says as she drops a card onto the pile. She lets out a triumphant “Ha! Ha! You give?” She takes a final puff of her cigarette and stamps it out.

“Oh, you’re too good for me, Avis. Too good.” He has a small smile on his face now, as he folds his cards. She moves one of the plastic pieces on the board. Claire doesn’t pretend to know what is going on right now.

“Yeah, well tell me something I don’t know!” Her mother triumphantly declares. He smiles at her again, taking a final puff of his cigar, following Avis and taking the end off his cigar, placing into the ashtray.

“Time out! My back hurts.” She puts her cards down and stretches her legs out fully, leaning backward to stretch her back out also. He touches a hand to her foot, squeezing at the arch.

“You okay? Why don’t you sit at the top of the bed to support your back? Or we can just quit it, if you’re too sore?”

She pulls her foot back, leaning up onto her elbows to look at him, “Oh no, don’t you start that with me. I just need one minute and then we are going back into the game so I can beat you with a landslide win!” She retracts her elbows again and falls back onto the bed.

Claire had never seen her parents like this before, being playful, that she could remember. It was actually a bit frightening. Had she just walked into a twilight zone? Even when she was a child when her parents were getting on, her father was barely home, but she had learned very quickly as a child that her parents were never on the best of terms. They were often not in the same room and when they were, it was just jibes, insults, and outright abuse. She learned young that if she just shut up and didn’t get involved that she could get out unscathed. So, this… was new…

“You two, okay?” She asked them both, moving her eyes from one to the other.

It was her father who answered, her mother still sprawled out on the bed, her father having recaptured her mother’s foot, rubbing it affectionately. Where they two… _back at it_? From what she gathered, her father fucked about with women from the studio… and she had heard her mother’s antics at times when she knew her father was in Europe. So, this was very, very new…

“Yeah honey, why? Are you ok?” Her father was also giving her his full attention, which was also, new…

Claire nodded, “yeah.” She walked over to the chaise lounge, taking a seat on it, folding a leg under her, smiling bashfully. “Pretty great, actually…”

“Oh yeah?” Ace smiled at her, as Avis sat back up and started dividing the cards up to shuffle them up for their next game. “Why’s that?”

Claire started picking at a thread on the chaise lounge, still smiling stupidly, staring at it. “I got a date to the premiere.” She smiled widely now.

Avis kept shuffling the cards, divvying them out, but gave a nod and an “ohh” of interest.

“What premiere?” Ace asked, perplexed. Avis looked at him, narrowing her eyes.

“The premiere of a movie at the studio that you’re not allowed to talk about. The one that Claire is in!” She smiles, shaking her head, slapping his leg, as she returns to her cards.

“Ohhh! Anyone I know? Just tell me it’s not Lon Silvers. For an absolute creep, he has gotten so many first dates over the years. He just can’t keep any of them.” Ace laughed as he thought about Lon. **A complete bore of a guy, but a good lawyer. Luckily, he didn’t have to be his friend.**

Avis’ head propped up immediately at what Ace had said, looking directly at Claire, “Claire… if you have a date with Lon Silvers, then please leave my room, leave my house, do not come back, don’t come to the studio, do not call me again, don’t call anyone I know again, and it was good knowing you.” She turns back to her cards again, straight faced.

Claire laughs then, as does Ace.

“No mother. I have higher standards than Lon Silvers, thank you very much,” she laughs a little again.

“Thank god!” Avis shouts to the room loudly, shaking her head as she organises the cards.

“No, it’s Jack!” She smiles excitedly now, making a small squeaking noise, slamming her hands on either side of her face, squishing it in excitement.

_Aha! She knew that he would make a move. Well done for getting the hint, Jack!_

Ace looks from Avis to Claire smiling. “Who’s Jack?”

 _Shit._ She looks up at Ace with her eyes wide. _Shit, shit, shit. Why had she not considered this when she pushed Jack into Claire’s arms! Ace was going to lose it. He had just found out about Jack, and now Claire was going to see him. Shit!_

“Honey, I thought Jack was married?” _She ignores Ace, hoping to distract and move the conversation, so he never receives the answer to that question._

“Who’s Jack? He’s married?” Ace looks from Avis to Claire and back.

“Oh, he is..”

“He is? Who’s Jack?”

“But apparently his wife cheated on him, and the babies they just had were actually another guys…”

“Who’s Jack?” Avis nods along, glancing to Ace every so often. _She knows how he’s going to take this. Poor Jack, though. She just hopes Claire doesn’t let it spill. He will find out eventually, but it’s better coming from her when it’s not such a bomb to drop on him. But she can’t be excited, so Ace doesn’t get jealous. Why was her life such a drama?_

Claire, however, is rabbling the explanation.

“…but he’s heart-broken about it. They have split up now because his wife wants to be with the other guy. And the first person he thought to call was me, because he wanted to talk about it. He was really upset and didn’t feel he could talk to the guys about it. He’s just so emotional, and genuine, and handsome, and…”

“Claire!” Ace shouts now, attempting to get her attention. He smiles calmly, “who’s Jack?”

“Oh! Of course, you wouldn’t know! He’s an actor in the movie I am in. He plays the lead…” _Fuck! Aaaaaaannndddd, here we go._

Avis’ eyes squeeze shut, Ace’s eyes bulge. He looks slowly over to Avis as Claire continues, both of them now hardly listening to Claire. His mouth has folded inward in rage, as he realises who Claire is talking about. Avis looks at him and nods her head, confirming it is who he thinks. Ace looks straight ahead immediately, fuming.

**So, it’s THAT GUY! First the guy fucks his wife. Which is hard enough to accept. But now, he’s now going out with his daughter, probably going to fuck her next. What, is he next on the guys list so he can have the whole family as notches on his bedpost? Is this guy just going around the whole family? This gigolo! His daughter was dating a gigolo!? Was she going to marry him? Was this guy going to become his son-in-law? HIS ONLY SON-IN-LAW! So, he was supposed to welcome a guy who’s fucked his wife into the family? This was too much. She couldn’t go out with this guy.**

_Shit. He’s going to explode. I need to try and do something. He’s going to start being unreasonable. She knew how he was when he was angry. He got nasty and graphic. He would tell Claire the whole thing, so it sounded worse than it was. He was only thinking of how he felt about it, not Claire. Not Claire’s feelings. She had to handle this more delicately, so she was going to do it in the only way she knew how. She was going to have to take the hit and be the bad guy._

Ace started shouting, “Claire-“

However, she shouted over him, “Claire! What are you thinking?!”

Claire jumped in surprise, she thought they would be happy, “what?”

“Are you crazy! He’s an actor! He’s married! So, what, he leaves his wife, now he’s a divorcee! And he doesn’t have a penny to his name!” She takes a deep breath. **Good, she’s gonna knock some sense into her.** _She feels terrible. It was her who had pushed Jack to Claire. She had never even considered Ace’s reaction. She had to give him a show. If she came across as okay with it, he would implode. She had to up the dramatic._

Claire spluttered, “but.. but… I…”

Avis clutched at her heart, interrupting her.

“Are you trying to kill me? Do you understand what this could do to the studio, like we aren’t going through enough! You know the rumours going around about him! Now here is more press for fuckin’ gossip assholes to play with, making it look like he had the affair with you, his co-star whilst his pregnant wife sat at home! It doesn’t matter if it’s even true, it’s how it looks! And then people concentrate more on that, and the movie suffers! And your poor father!” she gestures dramatically towards Ace. “He’s just had a heart attack and I’m going to have to tell him why this is an issue on top as well when he comes back to the studio. You’re sucking the life out of me, Claire!”

She gets the reaction from Claire that she was expecting. She gets defensive, as she used to before they had started creating a bond. _God, she hoped she could explain this to her later, gaining her forgiveness._

“But mother! This is so ridiculous!” Claire jumps off her seat now. “This is my life! You can’t control who I date! I thought you would be happy for me?”

Avis looks to Ace. He is looking back, cheering her on. _Shit._

“Well, I’m not! So, you had better just cancel it!”

Claire gave out a huge huff and stormed to the door, “No!” She walks out the door now, slamming it.

Avis puts her head directly into her hands. _She feels so guilty._ Ace rubs from her knee to her foot.

“I know that wasn’t easy.” He attempts to comfort her.

“No, it wasn’t.” She continues to huff into her hands.

“She couldn’t though, Avis.”

“Yeah but now I’m the reason she can’t get with a genuinely nice guy? How many more opportunities is she going to have to miss out on because of me Ace?” _This was all going to plan. She would go speak to Claire. Tell her the truth. Then fight it out with Ace._

“She doesn’t even know it’s because of you, babe.” He continues to rub at her ankle. But she pulls from his grasp and starts to move off of the bed.

“Where are you going?”

“I’m going to go and talk to her,” she says walking to the door.

“What for?” He’s complete confused. **He didn’t understand. They were having a perfectly good evening. What did she have to talk to Claire about? What was there to discuss? Claire couldn’t become involved with that guy, not after what happened between him and Avis.**

“You don’t understand, Ace. Since I took over the running of that studio, we have become as thick as thieves. We have been a great support and confidante to each other. We have really built up a great relationship, and I’m not going to destroy that just because of this. Remember what we said about casualties of our bullshit, well Claire has just become one!” On that note, she leaves the room, closing the door behind her, to pursue Claire.

***

Claire is lying on her bed crying so loudly that she doesn’t hear a knock on her door.

“Claire sweetheart?”

When Claire looks up at the door, Avis has poked her head around it, looking worried.

“Go away!” She buries her head back into her arms, crying harder.

Avis enters the room, closing the door behind her. _She hasn’t listened to anyone before, why would she start now?_

She walks slowly to the bed, perching herself on the end.

“Please don’t cry. I didn’t mean what I said. Let me explain.”

She reaches to place her hand on Claire’s head, tears forming in her own eyes. _She shouldn’t have put on that charade for Ace. Not when it caused this. She didn’t want to hurt her daughter. Claire had been one of the only people there for her when Ace was in the coma. She had enjoyed getting to know her. She didn’t even know why she had hated her so much in the first place. She had thought about this many a night before now when attempting to sleep. How could she have been such a hard mother? Her mother wasn’t like this. Her mother had been caring, as had her father. Both of them had been kind people. How had she turned out so differently? But she had been kind once before also. She had been kind when she lived with her family in New York. Hell, she had been kind when she first came here. Yes, the studio’s rejecting her had been a knock, and had hardened her slightly. But she was still kind when she first married Ace, when she first had Claire. She thinks it may have been when she started to feel hurt. Betrayed. Cast out. When she had started to be neglected, it hurt so much she had accidentally neglected Claire also. But when she had started to block herself off to all of hurt and anguish she felt, when she had started to deliberately harden. She thinks that may be when she had started to act that way towards Claire. She had closed herself off to love because it was too hurtful when it backfired. She had done Claire an injustice all those years. They both had done Claire an injustice. She wanted to make that up to her. She knew she could never be fully forgiven, but she wanted to try from now on. And she had failed Claire at the first hurdle. Had chosen Ace’s feelings over Claire’s. He was old enough and stupid enough to deal with it. Claire was not. She was more like Avis than Avis had ever realised. She was a vulnerable kid, trying to be a hardened woman on the surface. She should have been happy for her daughter. Claire was excited to tell her something and she had shit on it. That’s not what a mother was supposed to do. She had panicked. She didn’t want Ace to be the one to drop the bomb on Claire. She had been trying to spare her, but Claire didn’t know that._

When Claire felt Avis touch her, she flinched away, sitting up, drawing her knees to her chin.

“I can’t believe I trusted you.”

 _That was a blow to her chest._ Avis sighed, looking down at the bed spread.

“Please just let me explain,” she whispered, “please.” She looked up directly into Claire’s eyes.

Claire had stopped crying now, was wiping the tears from her face. She tightened her mouth, trying to hold it together, and stayed silent, allowing her mother to start talking.

“I over reacted. I don’t have an issue with you going to the premiere with Jack. I actually think it would be very good publicity for the picture, not bad.”

Claire was astounded. This is not what she expected. How could her mother change her mind in a matter of minutes?

“But… but you said…”

“Forget what I said!” She came across harsher than she meant. _You’re angry at yourself not at her. Don’t take it out on her._ Claire did not react, nor speak. Avis tried to soften herself. “You like Jack, a lot, don’t you?”

Claire smiled a little, “yeah… he’s really nice. Kind. Not like the others.”

Avis stood now and started to pace the room. _Well that solidified everything she suspected, making this a whole lot harder. How was she going to take this?_

“Have you heard the rumours about, Jack?”

“About the… gas station? Well… yeah… But they were just rumours… and even if it were true…” Claire gave a shrug.

Avis stopped in her tracks. _Claire didn’t care if he was doing that kind of thing?_

“Well, let me confirm something for you… The rumours are true. He did engage in that kind of thing, though he doesn’t anymore.”

Claire’s mouth turned into an ‘O’ and giggled a little, “really?”

_She was giggling. The kids of today. Jesus Christ, they were so open. When she was Claire’s age she would have been horrified._

“Yeah. Not for very long mind you.” Avis resumed her pacing.

“Wow. I heard that some magazine had photographs or something, but I thought it was all made up gossip.”

Avis took a deep breath and sat on the edge of the bed again, looking at Claire.

“Yes, well a magazine did have photographs. With me… and Jack.”

She grimaced waiting for the shouting that was about to ensue.

Claire’s mouth dropped open, “you and…”

“Yes. I can explain that as well…” She took a deep breath.

Claire jumped up from the bed and began her own pacing, “Oh my god. I mean I knew that you slept around but with Jack? Paying for it? That’s just…”

 _Wait, what? She knew what…_ Avis shook her head in shock.

“You knew? I cheated…” _This is not the conversation she anticipated with her daughter. First her daughter was all right with Jack being paid for sex and now she knew her mother slept around? And she was saying it so casually!_

“Well, yeah! We all knew! Daddy as well. You two have both been estranged for years. He cheats with the girls at the lot, Jeanne Crandall was one of them, but her hearts not in it. You used to pick up guys and bring them back here. I heard a few times with them when you brought them back. But I didn’t know you paid for them. And what is it with you and daddy now? In the bedroom being nice to each other? What has been going on here?!” She was shouting now in exasperation.

_They hadn’t told Claire. She had told Ellen, Ernie, and even Jack. But they hadn’t told Claire. Jesus Christ, Avis. She’s a god damned adult! How did you both think she wouldn’t notice anything._

“Sit down. I will explain!” She takes another huge sigh as Claire takes a seat back on the bed.

“You know then that your father and I hadn’t been getting on for years?”

“Mother… you would have to be blind and deaf to not know THAT!”

“Okay, you’ve made your point. Well we both did our fair share of cheating over the years due to a huge amount of miscommunication between both of us about what we both really wanted… and that was each other.”

Claire’s face softened, looking at her mother sympathetically.

Avis continued, “We wasted a lot of time, taking a lot of victims along the way and you were one of those people, Claire. And for that, I am so sorry, darling. I truly am. Jack was another one of those people. He was simply a guy who came to Hollywood looking for a way to make money to support his family and his dream, and I was a lonely old woman trying to make up for your father’s absence. But your father and I have talked everything through, we have both been brutally honest with each other. We have both admitted to the cheating, to the reasons we did it, which will remain between the two of us, as it is no one else’s business. But what you need to know is that we decided to try again, and only devote ourselves to each other from now on. And I am the happiest I have been in over a decade. But I am sorry we have brought you this heartache along the way.” She can feel the tears falling as Claire plunges toward her, wrapping her in a fierce hug. Avis is taken aback but pulls her in tighter.

“I’m so happy for you. I truly am,” Claire says over her mother’s shoulder. _Was there anyone who wasn’t happy for them. She was waiting for the one person who wasn’t and wanted to slap her across the face for all the bad they did._

“I’m sorry,” she says whilst fully crying. “I’m so sorry.”

She pulls Claire back now to look into her eyes, pushing Claire’s hair back from her face.

“The only reason I protested so much when you told us about Jack is because I just had to break it to your father yesterday who Jack was and that he was going to be the lead in the movie. He’s still a little touchy about it, so definitely would not be okay with you dating Jack… if that’s what you end up doing! But also, I didn’t want him blurting out to you why he was so angry what happened between Jack and me. But he will get used to it and I’m going to go talk to him about it now. I want you to know that there was nothing other than… you know… between Jack and me. It was just a quick exchange a few times. Nothing romantic, no feelings or anything like that. I just hope that what I’ve done doesn’t stand in the way of you getting what you want, especially since I am the stupid idiot who told him to call you and speak to you when he was looking down yesterday! It’s really all my fault and I’m sorry!” She couldn’t stop the tears from flowing, still stroking Claire’s hair and now her face.

“Mother, it’s not the best thing to hear and it will take some getting used to, but it’s not the worst thing I’ve heard. It would be different if it were romantic… which you said it wasn’t…”

Avis clasped Claire’s hands now, shaking her head furiously to confirm what she said.

“… well then. Crazier things have happened in Hollywood. It’s not going to make me stop seeing him if that’s what it leads to.”

_Avis felt complete relief. Complete relief. She hadn’t ruined her daughter’s happiness._

“And you’re not mad at me, because I wouldn’t be shocked if you were a little?”

“Nooo, I can’t be angry about something that happened before I even met the guy. It would be different if it had happened after I liked him. It’s not that bad.”

_She didn’t hate her. This was going so much better than she thought. Something had to be said for Hollywood kids today being so accepting of everything that would send her generation over the edge at their age. And Claire, her Claire. She was so mature, accepting, and kind. Perhaps it skipped a generation. That was something Claire had over Avis, and she was glad of it._

Avis wrapped her arms around Claire’s shoulders and kissed her forehead a couple of times.

“Thank you, darling. That means the world. I’m still so sorry.”

Claire was struggling being crushed under her mother’s embrace. She wasn’t used to this affection. Had never really had any before. “It’s fine, mother. Please just let me breathe a little.”

Avis finally let her go, sniffing, wiping at her nose, standing up.

“I’m sorry. I will let you get back to your evening. I need to talk to your father anyway,” she started walking slowly towards the door.

“So, I don’t need to cancel my date with him to the premiere?” Claire asked finally.

“No, darling.” Avis said standing at the open door.

“What about daddy?”

“I will handle him, don’t you worry.”

As she went to close the door, she remembered and popped her head back in the door.

“Are you able to come home for dinner tomorrow night? Around 7pm? Your father is able to make it downstairs, so Ellen and Dick are coming for dinner. Your father wants you to be there.”

“Yeah, should be fine.”

She smiles then, “all right, darling,” and closes the door.

***

She enters determinedly back into her bedroom, ready to have this out with Ace, but when she enters, she sees him sitting up on the bed, one leg slung over the side, shuffling the cards, calmly. _Not what she was expecting._

“I just ran you a bath, since your back is so sore. I put something in it so there were bubbles, but I don’t know if it was the right thing. I thought I could sit in with you, on the toilet or something whilst you relaxed, unless you wanted some time to yourself?”

 _God how was she supposed to keep up her fighting persona when the guy ran her a bubble bath for her aching muscles._ _Maybe she needed to try the good old tactic of whipping her clothing off. It seemed to work in the past_. _She had expected him to be all over her about Claire and here he was talking about running a bath for her._

“No, I don’t mind you sitting in with me. Thank you, darling. That’s exactly what I needed.” She says as she starts to untuck her shirt.

“What happened with Claire?” He is surprisingly calm, trying to tread lightly, she can tell.

She had unzipped her skirt by now and has started shimmying it down her legs when she responds, “how about I tell you about it when I’m in the bath?”

“All right,” he was mesmerised by her form again. **Was this ever going to go away? Was he ever going to be able to watch his wife undress without reactions?**

“How about I get you some wine, whilst you get yourself into the bath. This undressing thing never gets easier.” He exhales deeply as he stands to go to the door.

She, having nearly unbuttoned her shirt fully, not leaving anything to the imagination, blocks his exit, “you are something else.” She smiles seductively, reaching up to kiss him, still handling the final buttons. _He was a foot taller than her, towering over her. How did it seem that this towering monumental powerful man was always putty in her hands? How was she so lucky?_

He kissed back eagerly.

“Okay, I need to leave this room, like yesterday.”

She chuckles as she removes the rest of her clothing on her way to the en suite. _He wasn’t kidding when he said he added bubbles. They are a foot high._ She places her hand into the water, feeling it was perfectly boiling, the rose scent invading her nostrils. Having shed all of her clothing, she settles perfectly into the water. Only a moment later does Ace enter with a glass _and bottle_ of _champagne?_

“Champagne? What’s the occasion?”

He shrugs in response. “I thought you would prefer it to wine.”

“I do, thank you.” She takes the glass from him as soon as he pours it, as he places the bottle on the counter, taking a seat on the toilet.

She takes a sip, then balancing the glass on the thigh of her bent leg, as she closes her eyes and exhales.

“This is truly what I needed. Thank you.” She opens her eyes again and looks over to him smiling. He smiles back, offering her a cigarette. _Does he just think of everything? How has he known her so well for so long and never shown it?_ **He doesn’t want to bombard her with what happened but it’s starting to make him feel nervous.**

She nods, taking one and letting him light it, as he takes one and lights it also.

“So, what happened?” _Well that was short lived._

She takes a deep breath.

“I told her the truth…” She allows that to settle into the air. When she looks at him, he is simply nodding. **The truth? About what? About her and the guy? He needs to be calm. He tries to take some of the deep breaths that the physiotherapist had advised him today when he felt himself getting worked up.**

“Okay,” is all he manages to get out, whilst breathing deeply.

She sits up slightly now, taking a drag of her cigarette and exhaling slowly.

“Here’s the thing, Ace. Like I said before, she’s a victim of our bullshit. I told her that I slept with Jack, that he would do that for money but doesn’t anymore. That he did it for money for me. That there was no romance there. I told her that you and I had reconciliated, and that we were very happy now. That I hoped that me sleeping with Jack didn’t fuck up her chance now of being with him… if that’s what she wants. Because Ace, I don’t want to get in the way of her happiness. We for so many years treated her like shit because of our own selfishness. Finally, we can be there and be real parents for her. We can’t tell who she can and cannot date. She’s a grown woman. And I’m sorry but if she wants to be with Jack, who by the way, is a really nice guy in comparison to all the other fucking dodgy losers down on that lot, then that’s what’s going to happen, but it’s ultimately her choice. She has all the facts and what she does with them, is her choice.”

He is still nodding, taking a drag of his cigarette, moving to pick up the ashtray on the counter to bring it to her so she can dab the ash into it. She does so and takes another drink of her champagne. **He is still trying to remain calm. So far, it’s came across that she and Claire are doing what they want and what he feels doesn’t matter. Yeah, they had been shitty to Claire in the past, she had been a victim of their war, and he did want to make up for that. But don’t his feelings count for anything in this?** He moves to refill the glass also. Once he does so and puts the bottle back down, he speaks.

“So, what I think doesn’t matter?”

She sighs then, moving her head back until it hits the wall. _How could he think what he thinks doesn’t matter? Maybe she’s coming across too harsh._

“Of course, what you think matters, darling. Why don’t you tell me what you’re thinking?” She looks away from the ceiling and back to him.

He looks directly in her eyes.

“Did you consider that that might be hard for me? That going to work and seeing a guy there who fucked my wife would be hard enough, but now I may need to see him when I come home at night. That if it goes so well that they get married that I need to pay for the wedding for the guy who fucked my wife. That if they have children, I will need to look at the guy who fucked my wife every time I see my grandchildren. Did you consider that I will never be able to escape from it? Can you imagine if we had a son and Jeanne married him? How would you feel about that? My conquests staring you in the eye everytime you came home to your own house. Work is work but this is my home.” He is very calm when he says all of this. Almost hurt. **Does she just not care about how he feels about it?**

 _She had not thought about it like that_.

“No, I hadn’t thought of it like that. I can understand why that must be hard. I can understand that completely.” She sits up now, reaches to press her hand holding the cigarette to his knee, rubbing it from side to side.

“But you’re getting ahead of yourself. You seem to think you’re going to feel that way about Jack for the rest of your life because that’s how you felt about Ernie. You thought that Ernie and I were having an affair. You thought I loved him. Jack and Ernie are not the same, and the feelings about Ernie will die too. But are you really going to put your own feelings in front of your daughters? After all the years that we shoved her to the side in favour of our own. Don’t forget, Ace, you only found out about this a few days ago. You may find that the longer you and I have what we have now, the less upset you may feel about me with other guys. A lot of allowances have been made for our behaviour. But this one isn’t for us, it’s for her. I honestly think that once you meet Jack, you will feel differently. He is a puppy. Absolutely petrified of me. Trust me, you have nothing to compete with. I want you, not the little puppy. I honestly think you won’t have as much of an issue after some time has passed. We both have done a lot of bad shit in the past; we should sacrifice something for her. Please just give it some time, give it a shot. For me? And for Claire? We owe it to her.”

She continues stroking his knee. He gives another huge sigh.

“Fine,” he looks down defeated. **How is he going to be able to let this go?**

“Hey, hey,” she says raising her hands into the air, to try and reach his face but falls short, dropping it back to his knee, taps it to get his attention.

He looks up at her now. Still silent.

“Talk to me, please.” She is concerned now. _Why does he look so sad?_

“It’s nothing. I just feel bad about Claire. I’m doing it for her and for you because I was such a jackass in the past. But I’m hoping with time this whole other guy thing doesn’t get to me so much in the future. I mean it’s already better, but I am going to keep trying. I promise that.” He grabs the ashtray as they both take the cue to take another draw from the cigarette and then put them out. He returns the ashtray to the counter, as she takes another sip of the champagne.

“It gets better. I promise. I was like that with Jeanne at first. But honestly, you get used to it. Especially now I know that what I have with you now, how special that is, it doesn’t bother me what you both did then. I think of what we do now, not what you both did. One dies out become nothing, as the other becomes more prominent. It just takes time.” She smiles at him.

“Do you want me to get Claire to ask Jack to come here tomorrow for dinner? So, you can meet him on your own terms and get it out of the way. Trust me, the guy will shit himself in our presence.”

He balks at that, **that guy in his house. He doesn’t know about that.**

“I don’t know, Avis. Let me think about that one.”

“All right.” _It’s time to cheer him up a bit, it’s gotten too sad._

“I think I’m just going to have to make you think of me more,” she says seductively, as she wags her eyebrows. “Do I need to put my stockings and suspenders back on and walk around for you? How about me in my new Sable and nothing else?”

He laughs slightly then, “You in stockings is an image I don’t need to see to remember. I am certainly open to you in a sable and nothing else, perhaps when I’m able to act on it.”

She smiles and reaches to grab his hand again, pulling him to her so he stands and then bends over the bathtub down to her, “well then each time you get upset about that, then think of me in my stockings.” She puts her hand behind his neck and pulls him to her lips. After a long kiss, where she invades his mouth, the alcohol making her more forward, he pulls back, moving back to his seat.

“Mhmmm… champagne,” he says as he licks his lips.

“The most alcohol you will have for a long time,” she smiles again, moving the bubbles around with her hand. “Trust me darling, once you get the go ahead for us to make love, you’re gonna have so many images to think about it will make your head spin. There won’t be room for anything else.”

She smiles seductively up at again.

“Can I get that in writing?”

“You can get it anyway way you want it, once the doctor gives his approval,” she smiles saucily again, puts her lips between her teeth. _She knows she’s being a shameless tease but anything to keep his mind off of it._

He growls at that and closes his eyes.

“You don’t play fair,” he smiles back at her.

“And that’s how you like me.”

He gives a huge sigh, “you finish your bath, I’m going to go lie down, and cool off!”

“Wait!” She shouts after him when he’s near the bathroom door. “Gimme another kiss.”

He looks back to her and sees her mischievous smile. **He can play her at that game.**

He saunters back over to her and leans down, giving her a hard kiss, bringing his hand to the back of her neck, penetrating her mouth this time. She graps the back of his head as she gets lost in the kiss. As he draws back, she quickly follows him upward, pulling down on his neck, not ready to break contact yet. However, he successfully pulls away, and smiles at her knowingly, and then walks into the bedroom without a word.

“Now who’s not playing fair!” She says settling back into the bath, with a huge sigh.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's honestly so hard trying to remain as authentic as possible to this time period.  
> According to my vintage expert mother Russian Sable, made to measure by Dior with the embroidered initials and secret pockets for things like makeup was the best of the best you could get in 1949/1950. So that's what our Avis is getting!
> 
> And of course Avis is going to be competitive. Did y'all expect anything else?
> 
> Also, do I invite Jack to the dinner party? No idea whether to just bench him...


	12. Guess Who's Coming To Dinner?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A wee short chapter (for me)!  
> I started writing the whole thing and got 5% into what I wanted to right and realised it was enough for a chapter of it's own. So here ya are!  
> Enjoy!

Today, most of Avis’ day goes by in a blur. She had been shocked when she had concluded her bath last night and Ace had told her to invite Jack to the dinner party he wanted to have. She supposed that his time left alone to think had allowed sufficient time for him to build up guilt about his jealousy and how they had treated Claire. She hadn’t questioned it. _She had thought it best not to look at the reasons behind it. However, she was curious about what had swayed him. She did think it were for the best for him to get it over with rather than letting the thought out if built up. However, she had to admit she did feel a little nervous._

The next morning, she had dressed quickly to head to the studio, not forgetting the new sable fur she was ready to flaunt to the world. She had then rapidly informed Gertie what she had wanted bought in and served at the dinner party. She had decided to offer to Claire to invite Jack to dinner on the drive to the studio. Claire had seemed apprehensive, but the thought of dinner with her parents, Dick, and Ellen only also had not appealed to her. She had told Avis that she would ask him. However, by midday Avis had still had no confirmation about his attendance. She had had to hunt Claire down in the studio for a confirmation. She had found that she was unable to concentrate fully on anything else, citing that her urgency for an answer was due to the need to confirm with Gertie the number so she could make the appropriate amount of food. Eventually by 2.30pm she finally got the confirmation. Jack was coming to dinner. _She didn’t know if she had felt relief or fear when she had heard that. It was a reality now._

She had called Gertie to confirm with her that there would be six for dinner. She had also spoken to Ace in the meantime. He had rushed to the telephone when he had heard she was on it. He was excitable since he had been able to tackle the stairs and had walked to the back garden to breathe in some fresh air. She decided not to bring up at that point that Jack would be attending dinner though she had intended to, as she thought he would be ruminating over it. However, upon hearing he was more distracted with his own personal accomplishments, she instead decided to focus on encouragement, praise, and fussing over him not taking it too far. _She had been happy that he was sounding so much more elated._

She had left work a half an hour late, signalling to Dick and Ellen that dinner would be at 7.30 sharp, so if they wanted a drink which she knew she did then they should arrive earlier. On her drive home with Claire she had been in her own world. Claire, however, had not noticed as she instead opted to excitably talk about how her rehearsal with Jack had been progressing. She had, however, mentioned that Jack had needed some convincing to come to dinner. He had apparently been nervous at the thought of coming to the house and having an intimate dinner with both Avis and Ace, but Claire had talked him into it. _He wasn’t the only one who was nervous. Her nervous had only increased as the day had gone on. She had started thinking that the whole idea was a mistake. That this could potentially back-fire and make things worse. Jack was not the most tactful of boys when he was nervous, he could say something to rile Ace. Also, Ace was not the most pleasant of people when he didn’t like someone. He was never one to put on a façade. He was a New Yorker, much like her... What you see is what you get. Hence why they had been so fiery with one another over the years. So, this dinner party could be a potential disaster without her supervision and hazard management. She would recruit Ellen into her cause. She would be more than willing. This was too big a job for her alone._

When she arrived home, Gertie was half-way in her journey towards the front door as she usually received her when she arrived home. However, she shouts to Gertie, stopping her in her tracks before she moves any further.

“Don’t worry, Gertie! You don’t need to greet me! I know you’re busy! I’m going to take my coat upstairs anyway! I will be down as soon as I get ready!”

Gertie just nodded and quickly turned back around, speed-walking in the direction of the kitchen.

She starts to take off her gloves, as Claire rushes past to the stairs her mumbling something getting ready.

“Where’s-“, she shouts after Gertie but realises she is already out of earshot.

“-Ace,” she finishes out loud quietly to herself. _He could literally be anywhere now he was walking around._ She walks to the dining room seeing that the table is already set. She inspects it briefly and moves a fork a millimetre to the left. She takes a look out of the French windows leading to the garden so she can see if there is any sign of him sitting out by the pool. However, there is no sign of him. She then ventures into the office and living room to see that it is completely empty. _He must be upstairs._ She slips off her fur coat, moving around with it on in this heat is warming her up too much. She climbs the staircase to venture to find her husband.

As she enters the bedroom, she is met with Ace’s tall form facing away from her in a crisp white shirt, blue braces, and his tailored blue suit pants. _Chester Barrie, Savile Row. It had been hand tailored on their trip to London two years ago. He still wore it well._ He had turned upon her entry. _His tie, pin, cufflinks, and sleeve garters were all in place. He looked so sauve._ He holds up his hands, waiting for her appraisal.

“Well?”

She gives a wolf whistle, then a seductive smile as she closes the door and walks to the bed to place her fur coat, gloves, and handbag on it. As she begins to walk towards him, she looks him up and down, licking her upper lip.

“Very dashing,” she evaluates, as she reaches him and places both hands on his shoulders, running her hands across them felling the crisp of his shirt, and then down his arms, stopping to grip at his strong biceps. _There was always something about his strong form that was a huge turn on._ He places his hands around her waist as he looks down at her. “You look extremely handsome, darling. You always have been enticing in a tailored suit.”

She reaches up onto her tip toes to give him a peck, whilst he takes the hint, leaning down to meet her half-way. She draws back, eyes still closed and stops, holding him in place when he is only an inch away from her lips.

“Hi,” she breathes, giving another great smile as she opens her eyes.

“Hi,” he says already moving in for a second, fiercer kiss. Both moaning as they lose themselves to it.

They both pull back, smiling. However, she is first to move, slapping his arms, and moving out of his grasp.

“No distractions. I need to get ready!” She is already out of his arms before he can protest. However, as she walks to the wardrobe to choose an outfit, she shouts over her shoulder to him.

“So, how was the physiotherapy today? Tell me about it!” She continues moving around as she kicks off her heels, taking off her hatpin and hat, throwing it to the bed when she has placed the pin back into the hat.

“It was brilliant! Absolutely great,” he’s taken a seat on the chaise lounge, his black shoes placed on the floor in front of him. “I walked about a good bit and got dressed first. First time not wearing pyjamas in such a long time. And then when Tom arrived, he watched me walk around for a while. I didn’t even need the walking aid. And then we went onto the stairs. We talked more about the different kind of breathing and resting you might need to take on that, especially when you go up them. But I went up and down them three times, and then I walked around the house. I didn’t think I would be so happy to see my own house.”

She smiled at this as she turned back around towards him, placing two possible outfits onto the bed, looking at them.

“Oh, I’m glad!” She held one dress up, looking moving her head from side to side. “And you said you went outside?”

“Yeah,” he stopped putting his second shoe on, “it was amazing, Avis. Tom said it’s normal for people who have been in comas or indoors unwell for such a long time but… I just couldn’t stop looking at the sky. I just kept looking up. I took a seat, looked at the view of LA, and just, the trees were so green…” She had stopped looking at the dress now, him captivating her with his passion for being outdoors today. He smiled greatly at her. “I had lunch out there. And I just can’t wait to get into that pool! If it’s nice out tomorrow, I’m going to read out when Tom leaves.”

She can’t stop smiling at him, it’s infectious. “You’re cute when you’re excited, did ya know that?”

He laughs at that. “It’s just so good to feel like I’m alive again.” He turns his attention back to his shoes.

_She feels so bad for him. That he hadn’t felt alive before because he was cooped up indoors. Her mother always said that sunshine was good for the soul so she can understand why he so much more enjoys being able to roam outside._

“I know, darling.” She felt like they had to move away from this conversation.

“Okay, time for you to help me. Which of these should I wear? Option number one is my full-length dusty pink, V-neck satin number, and second choice, a knee length, square neck, royal blue number with mink cuffs… choices… choices…”

She holds them both up in turn for him to see them in turn. He sized up both of them as she looked at him expectantly. **He was trying to picture what he had bought her with each of the outfits. He was going to surprise her with it before they went downstairs.**

“The blue number, option number two. Any opportunity to see your legs.” He waggled his eyebrows at her, and then leaned down to tie his laces.

She snorted, “incorrigible. All right, handsome. You got it.” She picked up option number one, turning to place it back into the wardrobe. She picked up option two and quickly changed in the en suite. _The last thing she needed was him becoming touchy-feel, distracting her because of her stockings and suspenders again._

She had entered the bedroom again, storming directly to the wardrobe to choose her matching heels for this outfit. _It had taken her such a long time to get the shade that had matched to perfectly to this colour._ He had finally finished lacing his shoes after a few attempts, **bending apparently was something he had to work on with Tom** , when he seen her approaching her vanity and taking a seat. **The time has come, Ace, old boy.**

She starts to re-touch up her make-up. Wiping away the parts of it that had faded away, to re-administer it.

“Do you remember when we first were married, and we used to always talk about New York? It was so insane that we had both lived there for so many years, going to so many of the same place’s downtown, even with me in the Bronx and you in Long island, before we had moved out here, but yet we never crossed paths. How it always fascinated us, considering we knew some of the same people who worked in the same café’s and being Jewish as well, in that community, the same events, ya know?”

She never stops re-doing her make-up, moving from her cheeks to her eye makeup, “yeah, it’s bizarre. I mean, the city is huge, but it’s known for all the obvious stuff. The Theatres like The Hippodrome, Little Italy, Fifth Avenue. So many places we had in common…” she looked at him in the mirror, smiling, then moving back to her face.

Just then he stood up, moving to his suit jacket laying upon the bed.

“Yeah, I remember you telling me about your obsession with Tiffany & Co. on Fifth Avenue, and how you used to look in the store every week when you passed by it on your way to your work.”

She paused now, still holding the eye-pencil in her hand, her elbows leaning on the vanity table. She smiled widely, looked in the mirror at him, reminiscing.

“Oh yeah… the two string pearls. Oh my god, I wanted those pearls so bad, the ones with the sapphire and diamonds clasp. I must have looked at them every week for a year. I thought that when I became a big movie star that I would come back and get them. They weren’t even that expensive in comparison to everything else there. I just thought the clasp was beautiful, and pearls were so popular then. Of course, 18-year-old me never considered that they don’t just sit in the store for years until you’re ready to buy then when you can finally afford them 25 years later. That jewellery stores actually change their jewellery every now and then.” She gives a slight smile and shrug, deciding she is finished using the pencil, placing it onto the table, now wiping her lipstick off with a handkerchief. **Good, she remembered.**

He stands now, having removed the box from his inside jacket pocket.

He approaches her, hiding it behind his back. He places a hand onto the back of her chair, leaning on it to bend down to kiss the bottom of neck as it meets her right shoulder. She moves her head to the left as she lets out a low hum and giggle, closing her eyes. He takes his opportunity with his other hand to slip his arm around her left side and place the well-known blue box down in front of her on the vanity table.

He pulls back slightly from her skin, his breath still tickling it, “well I hope it feels the same getting it 40 years later.”

Her eyes are still closed, distracted from the feeling, “what?”

He kisses again and pulls back, waiting for her to open her eyes.

As she tries to understand what he means, she opens her eyes and sees the box. _He didn’t. He couldn’t. It wasn’t possible._

She looks around at him but cannot speak. She opens her mouth, but nothing comes out. He simply smiles lovingly at her. **Avis Amberg speechless is a rarity.**

She turns her attention back to the box, her hands trembling as she begins untying the bow and opening the box.

 _And there they are._ She picks up the two strings of pearls, attached by the most stunning clasp containing a large sapphire, surrounded by small diamonds. _It was her pearls. The very ones. Just as she remembered them. How did he…?_ She couldn’t stop the tears from flowing.

She grips them in her hand as she looks up into the vanity mirror at him.

“But… But, how did you? How did you…”

He kisses her shoulder again, taking the pearls from her hands, and arranging them to undo the clasp.

“I phoned Tiffany & Co. on Fifth Avenue a few days ago and spoke to them, told them I wanted to know if they had it in their archive. You know they often keep special pieces they have made since they began protected in a huge vault, especially when you are as prestigious as them. I left it with them for a while, they called me back later that day and it turns out they had it but didn’t know if it was for sale. So, I told them I would pay whatever they wanted. Which I did. Christians guys went and collected it for me, and it came in yesterday with the Sable. I thought it would go beautifully with outfit number 2 you chose tonight anyway. Do you like them?”

As he spoke, he had wrapped it around her neck and fastened the clasp. She had simply stared into the mirror, speechless, shocked, listening to him, touching the pearls around her neck. **It had framed her neck perfectly. It was made for her. They looked elegant.**

She looks up at him at his final question.

_Did she like it? She would give up every gift she was ever given in exchange for this. How did he even remember that story?_

She couldn’t help but breakdown into tears, her head flung into her hands, covering her face as she sobs.

**Shit. What had he done?**

“Hey, hey,” he said worriedly as he rubbed his hands across her shoulders and down her upper arms. She continues to sob louder, but then quickly turns around, throwing her arms around his neck, rising from her seat, burying her head in his neck. _Why could she not control the sobbing?_

He was taken aback by her pouncing on him. But he had caught her, throwing his arms around her back to support her as he could feel her tears on his neck. He starts taking steps backward until he feels his legs hit the chaise lounge. He sits down, unable to support her with their height difference, and navigates her to sit on his lap as her head never leaves his neck and her arms never relaxing her grip around him.

 **He wasn’t expecting this. He had expected her to be ecstatic, not hysterical. He had never seen her this upset.** **He didn’t know what to do but ride it out.** He continues to rub at her back, shushing her, trying to soothe her. He can hear her muffling something into his neck.

“What did you say, babe? I can’t understand.”

She pulls back now, her make up running down her wet face. She gives a deep breath and assaults his mouth with hers. Her force is so strong that he feels himself nearly fall backwards until he pushes back, supporting her back. However, she is not letting up, huffing as she penetrates his mouth with her wild tongue. He pulls back first, breathless.

“Baby, what is it? Talk to me.”

She is wiping at her face, also trying to catch her breath, one arm still hooked around his neck, as he searches her eyes for a clue.

Finally, she speaks, “that is the most beautiful and thoughtful gift I have ever had in my whole life. I would give up every gift I have ever had in my whole life for that one.” She starts getting teary again, “they are so beautiful, and I am so happy,” she finishes as begins crying harder into his neck again, squeezing around it also.

“Aww, baby, I’m glad you like them. I remember you telling me that story and how much you wanted something. When I saw them, I thought they were so gorgeous. Only you could pick something to elegant and timeless.”

She removes her head from his neck again and wipes at her eyes again.

“How are you so good to me? They are so special, and fucking romantic, and you’ve never done anything so beautiful before. How is it so different this time? You are so fucking…”, she looks up at the ceiling and gives a deep, frustrated growl, and quickly looks back at him and grabs his chin between her thumb and finger, bringing him an inch away from her face to look her in the eye. Her tone is low and gruff as she says, “Ace Amberg, you better give your all to this physiotherapy and get the go ahead soon, because there isn’t much longer I can take until my body takes over brain and fucks you senseless. I’m going to end up having a heart attack at not being allowed to.”

She punctuates the last sentence by striking her lips against his again, wrapping the hand on his chin back around his neck to grasp his head to push him further into her lips, trying to turn her body towards his to get closer to him. He gives her back everything she is hitting him with. She pulls away aggressively and her chest heaving, as the hand behind his head trails down to his chest, grabbing his tie.

“Trust me, babe. I’m giving it my all, because there is nowhere else I would rather be.” He moves his head to hers so that their foreheads meet.

She closes her eyes, still heavy breathing. _She needs to get herself under control. There is still a dinner party to attend and she is sure she looks a riot by now._

“Thank you,” she whispers. “Thank you so much. I absolutely adore you.”

He removes his head, noticing her eyes are still closed, he kisses her forehead, patting at her thigh.

“And I you…”

She takes a deep breath and gets up off his lap, her hand trailing down his arm, taking his hand, not wanting to leave his touch, their fingertips being the last thing that parts. She sits back down at her vanity wanting to assess the damage she has done to her makeup, but instead she is met only with the vision of her pearls. She lifts her hand again to touch them, her fingers rolling two pearls at the very front.

“You are something else do you know that,” she says into the room. He simply smiles, knowing that she can’t see him.

She finally sees her face. _Jesus Christ._ Her eye makeup has made its way to her chin. She uses a wipe to clean it away, trying to salvage what she still can. She starts to reapply cover up to her cheeks, along with rouge, whilst he stands and walks to the long mirror to assess if her makeup has ruined his shirt. **Nah, it’s fine. A little wet but the suit jacket would cover that up.**

He leans closer to the mirror to inspect his moustache, turning his head from side to side.

She starts on her eye makeup again… _take two…_

Once she has finished after placing on her signature red lipstick, and her face doesn’t look like she’s been crying like a baby, she finds the perfect sapphire earrings to go with the pearls and the dress she’s wearing.

“Ace, this had better be the last gift you give me. I can’t take much more,” she declares to the mirror as she places one of the earrings on her ear.

 **Shit. He wasn’t finished.** He turns around away from the mirror and looks over to her, bashfully.

“Well…”

She pauses putting in her other earring when she hears that. She looks directly over to him, “No, Ace! No! Send it back. Call them and say you’re sending it back.”

“I can’t! It’s already on its way,” his shoulders are hitting his ears, he is gesturing so hard.

“Jesus,” she says as she turns back to the mirror to place the earring on. “Fine. But that’s it! Nothing else. Seriously. I’m feeling guilty at how much you have got me.” She is finally ready. She looks at her reflection, turning her head from side to side. _It’s as good as it’s gonna get._

She stands now, walks to get a full-length mirror as she stops next to Ace to see both of their reflections.

“Why do you feel guilty? Look at all that great stuff you got me, the day I got back?”

She is evaluating the finished look in the mirror, when rolls her eyes at his words, turning towards him, “board games, pyjamas, and a table don’t exactly compare to what you have given me, Ace.”

He puts his hand around her shoulder, as her steers her to look back into the mirror as they stand together. She puts her arm instinctively around his waist, leaning her head on his upper arm.

“You got me the cigars. I am beyond thankful for those.”

Avis rolls her eyes again, shaking her head at the reflection, as he smiles.

“Not a bad pair,” she asserts looking at them.

“You look beautiful,” he says leaning down to kiss her temple, as she squeezes his waist back, “… as always.”

He then let’s go as he turns to get his suit jacket.

“Thank you,” she smiles. She gives a deep sigh, “okay, I need to go down and see how Gertie is getting on. I mean it’s a dinner for six, so I’m sure she is surviving. Just to prepare you, we are eating pasta, very well done. The recipe you like from when we were in Sicily. I thought it would be easier than you watching other people eat a juicy lamb.” She smiles and moves towards the door.

But she has not noticed he has stopped dead in his tracks, not putting his jacket on. **Dinner for six? That means only one thing…**

“So, the boy is coming then? If it’s dinner for six.”

She stops immediately, hand on the doorknob. _Shit with everything going on, she had forgotten to say to him._ She turns back around to face him. Sees that he is breathing deeply.

“Yeah, sorry I forgot to say. Claire asked him, they confirmed late this afternoon.”

He nods repeatedly.

 **Why did he feel so nervous? He was a grown man. He had thought it was time that he started acting like one when he had said to Avis to invite the boy. Avis had been right last night; Claire had suffered at their actions. She deserved to have parents who supported her. They had been so shit at it in the past. And he wanted to get the first meeting over with. The jealousy had to stop. He and Avis were in such a good place now, and he didn’t want to ruin that. So, he would play ball.** **And from what Avis had said, the boy was a wimp, surely, he could assert his dominance over the boy. Remind him who Ace Amberg was, Avis’ husband and his fucking boss.**

He moves to put on his suit jacket, turning his back to her taking another look in the mirror. **God, he was fat.** He thought, as he ran his hand from his heart to his lower stomach. He moved closer to the mirror, running his hands through his hair at the side of his head, his hairless top, giving a huge deep sigh. **He missed having a full head of hair. He really was looking old**. **Like the old Victorian pictures he had seen of his grandfather. Had remembered looking at those photos and thinking how he would never look like that. Well here he was.**

She watched him as he assessed himself. _She could see the assessment was not going favourably by the reflection of his facial expressions changing from grimace, to worry, to defeated. Why could he not see what she did._

She walked over to him, not that he noticed, so focussed on his own reflection. He did not notice she was there until he saw and felt her hands wrapping around his waist from behind him, her head popping out from behind him.

**Was he that big that he completely hid her form when she stood behind him?**

He grasped her hands in front of him, lacing his fingers through hers. She smiled looking at him up and down. He watched her face, realising that she was also assessing him. They made eye contact in the reflection. _He looked worried._ She smiled broadly and placed her cheek against his arm, squeezing her arms tighter around him, stroking his hands with her thumbs, sighing contentedly.

“Aren’t I lucky?”

He smiled back at her, squeezing his hands around hers tighter.


	13. The Dinner Party

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thoughts of Avis in italics.  
> Thoughts of Ace in bold.  
> Song lyrics in bold and italics.

When they had finally went downstairs, she had been surprised to see how easily he had tackled them. She had expected a few stops along the way, but he took them steadily, at a good pace. _She was so glad to see him coming along so quickly._ She had ensured he was settled in the drawing room before going to check on Gertie, who had of course everything under control. _She really was thankful for Gertie._

Ellen had been the first to arrive just after 6.15pm, giving Avis the perfect opportunity to steal her into her bedroom to draft her into service for tonight. Ellen had however been so excitable to greet Ace and to speak to him, so it had been a harder task than she had expected to pry away unsuspectingly. _Of course, when she found out the reason for her extraction, Ellen had been on board immediately. She almost looked excited as if she had been recruited by the damn F.B.I for a top-secret mission._ They had agreed that they would mutually move conversation on if it became awkward, also if anything became heated or any separations had to take place that Ellen would be in charge of steering Jack away, whilst hers was to distract and govern Ace. _She truly hoped that this was only precautionary. She would like to just have a nice dinner._

As they had descended the stairs, she looks around hearing Claire coming up behind them.

“Hello darling,” she stops on the stairs to look around, “well, you look beautiful.” Ellen also looks around, smiling kindly towards Claire, nodding in agreement. Claire had looked down shyly, patting her cute tulle lemon dress. _Was she nervous? She really had a thing for Jack, hadn’t she? Well she had nothing to worry about, she looked almost angelic._

They continue to walk down the stairs, as Avis hears two booming voices coming from the drawing room. _Dick must be here; he was one of the only people Ace would have a willing, prolonged conversation with. Well it certainly wasn’t going to be Jack, was it?_

“Thank you, is Jack here yet?” Avis looks around noticing that Claire is looking around nervously, as if he were going to appear out of thin air.

“I don’t think so, darling. When did you tell him to be here by?” She asks as they reach the landing, beginning their walk into the drawing room.

“Just what you had told me. Dinner at 7.30, to come an hour earlier for drinks.”

“Well then, there is plenty of time,” she says as she takes Claire’s hand and squeezes it reassuringly as they enter the drawing room, seeing Dick on one sofa rabbling to Ace who is situated across from him on the other, the fireplace crackling between them.

“I know! I mean McCarthy seems to be going after them hard, because of everything happening in China. I’ve known plenty of members of the Communist Party, and I just don’t see…”

“Dick! Wonderful to see you after only two hours,” she interrupts smiling at her own quip, as he stands to greet her, kissing her on the cheek.

“A pleasure as always,” he smiles, walking to Ellen and Claire giving them both a peck to their cheeks respectively.

“Drink, Ellen? Dick?”

“Absolutely!” Ellen shouts as she takes a seat next to Ace.

Dick raises his glass, shaking it to clink his ice, “I’m fine, Avis. Ace encouraged me to help myself!” He says promptly taking a swig of his drink afterward.

Avis walks to the drinks, automatically picking up what she knows Ellen is looking for. “The usual, Ellen?”

“Yeah! So how are you feeling, Ace? Avis said you were getting physical therapy?” Ellen is turning to Ace now, crossing her legs over, patting his knee just the once.

“I’m just fine! On the mend. Sick of being stuck in a bed so I’m glad to be moving around. The guy is great. Really nice guy. He’s teaching me breathing exercises and stuff. He says it’s normal when you have been inactive for a while to need to build it back up, so we are going to start on swimming in a few days. So hopefully it won’t be long until I’m back now.”

Claire walks nervously over to her mother. “What are the options? Do we have gin?”

Avis finishes pouring Ellen a drink and starts laughing heartily, “Ha! Do we have gin? Yes, Claire, we, the Amberg household, have gin.” She pats Claire’s arm and then begins to walk over to Ellen to hand her the drink, as Claire pours herself gin. _Maybe the gin would help her nerves._

When Avis passes the drink to Ellen, she directs her attention to Ace, “would you like a drink? A cola or something?”

“I’ve got one here. Gertie got me one when you were upstairs.”

She smiles turning to sit herself down next to Dick, as Claire approaches to sit next to her.

Dick, however, turns his attention to Avis, “no drink? YOU don’t have a drink?”

Avis turns to look at him mock offended, “no! I do not. I have been known to not have a drink once in a while!”

**She’s not drinking because of me.**

“Have a drink, Avis,” he looks at her kindly, picking up his cola and taking a sip.

She smiles at him, crossing her legs and smoothing down her dress, “I’m fine for the moment.”

“I don’t mind. This cola is hitting the spot,” he says dramatically taking another swig for good measure and letting out an “ahhh” gasp after he swallows. He laughs smiling at her again.

She continues smiling as everyone else in the room move their heads back and forth between them, “I’m honestly all right for the moment.”

Just then the doorbell goes.

“Oh!” Claire jumps up, “that will be Jack!” _She practically runs to the front door. She was going to have to teach that girl the art of subtlety._

“On second thought,” Avis stands abruptly to walk back to the drinks. Ace can’t help but notice Avis’ sudden panic. **Oh, she’s nervous? His nerves also came flooding back. Talking to Dick had distracted him for a moment.**

“So, Dick, what was it you were saying about NATO?” He directs his attention back towards Dick, attempting to distract himself from his own nerves.

However, before Dick can answer Claire enters with Jack on her tail. Dick and Ellen turn smiling to Jack immediately, but Avis continues to shake her drink unaware, as Ace keeps his attention directly on Avis, wanting to gauge her reaction to Jack.

“Well you know nearly everyone here,” Claire says.

“Hi, Jack!” Both Dick and Ellen offer one after the other.

Avis turns and gives a tight forced smile. “Hi Jack, would you like a drink?”

**She looks extremely stiff he notices. Whilst he’s glad she’s not flirting; he also doesn’t want her to be uncomfortable.**

Finally, Ace turns his attention to Jack, and it is exactly what he fears. **A young strapping, handsome young man. He looked fit, was tall, muscular. He definitely has the look of a movie star and if the acting lives up to the look, then he would go far. He’s exactly what Ace would hire for good publicity alone and put him into acting classes even if he was crap at acting. He had the look that would be perfect for magazines, posters, advertising campaigns. He looks literally like an all-American guy. A heart throb. He would definitely draw in an audience for his looks alone. He can see why Claire is infatuated. And why Avis probably enjoyed the boy’s company.**

Jack is nodding, hunching almost as he stammers, “ye- yes, thank you, Mrs Amberg. Whatever you have would be great.” He is almost out of breath from that alone. **He calls her Mrs Amberg. He wondered if that was for his sake - the façade that they had never met, or if he always did it. He can see what Avis means by him being a puppy. How the boy could have been in the line of business he was in and be this nervous was beyond him. Surely that kind of business required you to have instant charisma: meeting strangers and giving them satisfaction would surely require it. Avis must have eaten the boy alive. She was a formidable woman. There was no way this guy could have went toe-to-toe with her. Maybe she liked the control though, the dominance. He had to stop thinking of her with this guy, he could already feel himself getting angry again.**

Claire walks towards the seat next to Dick and gestures to her father, looking him in the eye, “and I’m sure you know who my father is, but you haven’t been introduced.”

Avis quickly turns around nervously holding both a drink for her and Jack, watching as Jack walks by Claire and approaches Ace. Ace takes the opportunity to stand, **there was no way he was going to remain seated looking like he was weak.** He pulls himself up to his full height as he stands. Jack was a few inches taller, but his frame was nothing in comparison to Ace whose frame and dominance seemed to fill the room.

He takes the hand that Jack holds out to him, “Ace Amberg,” he says firmly, his features firm.

“Jack Costello, sir,” Jack says exhaling, shaking his hand vigorously, “I was so glad to hear you were back in good health.” Ace ensures to give his strongest handshake, to guarantee Jack is aware who’s in charge here. Ace didn’t respond immediately to Jack’s comment, simply gave a grimacing smile. **Oh, so the boy was going to remind him he was weak, was he?** Jack lets go of his hand and takes a step backward, nodding to Ace, giving him a strained smile. **He thinks he was successful in making an intimidating first impression though. Good. This little boy had to realise his place in the heirarchy.**

“Thank you,” Ace says gruffly and returns to his seat. Jack turns back around to look at Claire, raising his eyebrows and giving a huge huff, taking a seat next to Claire who had gestured the seat to him. Jack’s reaction did not miss Avis as she approaches him to pass him his drink. _Well Ace made a great first impression if he was going for a top of the food-chain reminder bullshit. He was clearly feeling insecure. Fucking MEN! She was going to have to make sure he was a bit calmer._

Ellen smiles mischievously at the scenario and drains the remainder of her drink, getting up to pour another, passing Avis.

“For god sake, Ellen. Why didn’t you say, and I would got you another whilst I was there?” She turns back to look Ellen who is now at the drinks.

“Oh, you’re fine!” she waves at the air, “I can get it. You sit, you haven’t sat down once.”

“I am the hostess!” She shouts dramatically to Ellen, “especially since Gertie is busy with dinner, it’s my job.”

Ellen simply waves the air again, not willing to respond. She rolls her eyes and takes a sip of her drink.

Avis takes a seat down next to Ace, crossing her leg towards him, looking at him to see if she can read how that was for him.

“So, what were you both talking about? Something about NATO?” She tries to mask the awkwardness of the room with anything she can think of.

“Yeah!’ Dick says, “as I was saying Ace…”

However, she stops listening to whatever Dick is talking about, _she really didn’t care about NATO, she cares more about what is going on in this room._ She looks across to Jack and Claire who have turned all of their attention to Dick, listening and nodding along to whatever he is heatedly discussing. She then turns to look at Ace and sees that he is tense. She notices his fist is so tight, his knuckles are going white. His face is also very stern as he nods along quietly to whatever Dick is saying.

**He wants to listen to Dick, he finds the whole NATO alliance and its implications in its infancy fascinating. He has been reading so much about it over the past few days in the newspapers since he missed out on it so much when he had been comatose, but had thus far he had had no one to talk to about it since Avis was never one to care about politics in such great detail. But he finds that he can’t concentrate on the conversation due to Jack’s arrival. He wanted to believe that Jack would be a small, normal looking guy. Not the fuckin’ specimen before him. He had to give Avis, Ellen, and Dick kudos for staring him in a picture. It would be a money maker with his face alone. But he couldn’t help feeling jealous. Perhaps inferior. Ace felt he was a good-looking guy when he was younger, he had a lot of charm. But he had never been at this guy’s level. Had Avis not already slept with the boy, he wouldn’t even consider the guy a threat. But given that the guy was so young and fit, and they had slept together so recently… How could he compare with that, the boy must have been better in the sack than Ace could be now. He wasn’t even allowed to do anything with her now. He could tell from the other day how much she was missing intimacy, just from how she reacted from the little he gave her. What if she went back just to be fulfilled? And I mean you never hear of a gigolo who is shit in bed. I mean it’s the number one qualification to be one. She obviously must have found him attractive. Any broad would. He didn’t know what to think. Avis had told him that he meant nothing to her, but even then, she might go back to him for the physical part alone since he couldn’t provide it. She did before.**

She reaches her hand across to his tight fist, touching it until she feels his grip begin to slacken. When it does, she slips her hands between his, entwining their fingers. She looks up into his eyes, and sees he is surprised by her touch. She gives him a huge smile, winking at him, and moves their linked hands over her thighs so his arm rests across them. She turns her attention back to Dick, still not letting go of his hand and takes a sip of her drink.

**No, Avis wouldn’t do that to him again. She loved him. He had to stop this.**

He squeezes her fingers and turns his attention back to Dick, fully concentrating now, finally able to engage in the conversation.

“Yeah, but Dick, it’s pretty ground-breaking. But I mean, the USSR’s reaction... I mean…”

_She’s glad that he seems to be lightening up._

Avis had thought that they had gotten away with it. Dick and Ace had been talking about NATO between themselves whilst everyone else just nodded along. Just glad that it wasn’t so awkward. She was even willing to listen to boring conversation if it remained this peaceful. However, when the conversation had died out and a silence had ensued, the most surprising thing of all had happened.

“So, Jack. You’re the new leading man in our upcoming movie?”

Ace had directed his question to Jack. **He had been feeling much better talking with Dick. He felt ridiculous for being so panicked. Here she had been, looking after him for a past week and attending to his every need, why would she run off with another guy because he wasn’t allowed to make love to her yet. Avis wasn’t that flimsy a person.**

Avis turns her head to look at Ace, completely aghast. _Well fuck me sideways. That was the very last thing I was expecting. It must not be affecting him as much as she thought it would._

“Yes, sir. I am,” Jack smiles at Ace. Shocked himself that he is being spoken to directly by Ace after their frosty introduction.

Ace leans forward, sitting up, letting go of Avis’ hand and begins rubbing his hand up and down her thigh, his arm still draped across her. She takes another drink as she leans back against the sofa and moves her free hand across his back and soothes her hand across it rhythmically. _She was so proud of him._

“So where are you from, Jack?”

“Missouri, sir. St. Louis,” Jack nods his head at Ace, smiling.

“Ahh, St. Louis. Never been, but I liked the movie!” He gives a laugh. Everyone else laughed along at the quip. _Well he was trying. She could tell because his laugh was absolutely fake. He was so good at conversing with people when he wanted to. He didn’t become the head of a studio without having huge charm and charisma. He oozed that. She knew he hated small talk. But he was so good at it._

“Oh really? It’s pretty swell. You should go,” Jack says, smiling around the room.

“Maybe one day. Avis and I are from New York. The capital of the world. I was from the Bronx, Avis from Long island,” he punctuates by tapping Avis twice on the thigh, who smiles at him, nodding. “Where is it you’re from again, Dick?

“Illinois,” he says nodding.

“I know that! But what city. It wasn’t Chicago. I would remember that.”

“Rockford.”

Ace gives a hum and directs his attention to Ellen.

“Philadelphia, Pennsylvania,” she offers before he asks.

“Oh yeah! The birthplace of America!” She nods along smiling.

Claire pipes up then, “isn’t it odd how I’m the only person who was actually born here. So many people in Hollywood are from everywhere else. Rarely is there someone who was actually born here.”

Dick smiles, standing to fill his glass, collecting Avis’ empty one on the way. “Well that’s what makes this place so special. The diversity. How there are so many different kinds of people here. How there were so many different communities from all over the world. Hollywood is one of the most diverse places on Earth!”

“Absolutely, Dick,” Ace pipes up, “Absolutely.”

After another silence, Ace tries again, “so, Jack. Were you in the war?”

Avis jumps in, “please excuse the random question, Ace is a bit of a war fanatic,” she says continuing her rubbing of Ace’s back, smiling at him.

“I find it absolutely fascinating. All of the strategy and battles,” he tells the room, still rubbing Avis’ leg.

“Yes sir, I served in Anzio. I’m not sure if you have heard of it,” Jack eagerly divulges.

Ace responds immediately, “Oh yeah, the Battle of Anzio, it’s well-known!”

_Oh, thank god. They were actually finding something in common now. Hopefully, Ace might actually enjoy his company._

**Anzio? He was in Anzio. What a laugh!**

“Yes, sir. It was a long one. Almost six months there,” Jack is bursting with pride. He has always been quite proud of his service.

“Well no wonder! It one of the biggest shit shows of the war, was it not?” He starts laughing heartily.

_Oh shit._

Jack begins to bluster, as everyone in the room becomes instantly more tense, Dick giving Avis her drink with a eye-bulging look as he returned to his seat.

“Well sir...”

However, Ace interrupts him laughing, “I mean a six-month battle leading to what? Seven thousand deaths, and 36,000 injuries all because your Major General Lucas was too chicken shit to attack, so he held off? Rome could have been seized much sooner and a lot more saved if he had acted sooner. Even Churchill himself criticised the weakness of the landing force, the lack of protected divisions, the errors.” **Ace couldn’t help sticking the dagger in. What a delight that the boy fought in one of the most criticised battles throughout the second world war. He couldn’t help in reminding the boy that he wasn’t shit.**

“Yes sir, he did. But Churchill had also declared the battle a success, due to its outcome.” Jack had seemed angry when he retorted back to Ace. He clearly didn’t like his service being diminished.

Ace was taken aback. **He had not expected the boy to fight him. Who did he think he was trying to embarrass Ace?**

“Well,” he laughs spitefully, “seven thousand British and American deaths doesn’t sound like a success to me. Especially when your Major General was relieved half-way through to be replaced with Tuscott.”

“I’m sorry, sir but I have to disagree with you. Being there was very different to what you read in a book.”

Ace was incensed at being spoken back to. He removes his hand from Avis’ thigh to clasp in front of himself, as he leans further towards Jack. She had increased the tempo of her rubbing his back, panicking.

Avis started to zone out as Ace piped up to argue in more detail about the failure of the battle Jack was involved in. She looked around to Ellen, _this was the time to steer the conversation away like they had agreed._ However, she then heard Ace broach a subject she never thought he would.

“And your wife… you’re married, aren’t you?” He is spitefully smiling at Jack, licking his lips. Jack becomes is astounded, all the emotions rushing back to him. “Did you meet her before the war, did she wait for you to return, or did you meet her after? And she just recently gave birth, didn’t she? Congratulations.”

“Ace…,” Avis whispered, stopping her movements on his back.

“Daddy,” Claire said, turning back to Jack whose eyes filled with tears. He was attempting to keep it together.

**Good, you son of a bitch. Cry like a baby. I’m glad you know how it feels to have someone sleep with your wife. Maybe you should have thought twice about your profession and how many women’s husbands that might find out about it might be hurting just as you are. What goes around comes around.**

Jack coughs and quietly looking down speaks, “Claire, could you direct me to the rest room?”

“Of course,” she says jumping up, as he rises slowly behind her. She motions her arm towards a hallway in front of her. When he walks by, she turns back around looking at her father and mouths “what the fuck?” as she follows Jack to show him where the rest room is.

As soon as she leaves, Avis turns to look at Ace, who is draining the remainder of his cola.

All eyes are on him now.

Dick pipes up, “what the hell was all that about?”

Ellen is the first to answer, “Jack’s wife left him for another man. The babies aren’t Jack’s. They split up.”

Dick’s face changes to an ‘O’, as he drains his drink, “Hollywood.”

Ace finishes his cola and turns to see both Avis and Ellen both judgmentally looking at him. He turns away from their gaze. **Well the boy had it coming. He was an adulterer. Sure, so was he, but he was glad he knew how it felt to be on the receiving end.**

Finally, Avis speaks, “really, Ace? Really?”

Ace shrugs, “what?”

She sighs and shakes her head, “was that really necessary?”

He shrugs again, clasping his hands.

“I was right. The battle of Anzio is considered a fucking joke in the…”

Her voice is low _,_ “you know I don’t mean Anzio, Ace.”

They all hear someone in the foyer whispering, with Claire protesting. Jack and Claire appear in the drawing room doorway.

Jack is still looking down and addresses the room, “I think it’s best if I leave. Thank you for the invitation, but....”

“Don’t be silly…,” Avis starts but is interrupted.

“No, Mrs Amberg. I think it’s best for me to…” But he is interrupted by Gertie coming up behind him, announcing dinner’s arrival.

“You see! Dinner is already ready. Don’t insult Gertie by leaving now. Claire! Why don’t you show everyone into the dining room? Your father and I will be in momentarily!” She puts on her best smile, as Dick and Ellen stand. Ellen takes Jack’s arm as they walk towards the dining room.

When everyone had crossed the threshold, out of earshot, she had turned to Ace.

“Well?” Her eyebrows raised.

He stands now is rebuttoning his suit jacket, smoothing it down, not looking her in the eye, as she remains seated.

“Well, what?”

She pouts, nodding her head, waiting for him to look at her.

“Ace, you know that was uncalled for. He is a young boy. His heart is broken and trying to diminish his service. What’s the matter with you? I’m so disappointed.”

He looks from his jacket now to look at her in the eye. **She was disappointed? That was a dagger to the heart.**

He huffs, grimacing his face, “I wasn’t diminishing his service, the boy shouldn’t be talking about things he clearly knows nothing about, for example, military strategy. He should leave that to the adults.”

She laughs and closing her eyes briefly, shaking her head. “He literally fought in that battle, Ace.”

Ace huffs and protrudes his tongue into the side of his mouth, looking at the ceiling. **Of course, she would take his side.**

“For starters, I’m sure you are much more knowledgeable in military strategy than Jack is, but he was a solider. He was just a guy on the ground, going through a pretty traumatic event fighting in a battle, doing what he was told. How does diminishing the military strategy of his superiors have anything to do with him?”

He is silently briefly, “I didn’t do anything wrong.”

“You knew exactly what you were doing acting like that about his military service. You also know that that wasn’t the worst of it. You and I both know that you knew about his wife leaving him and those babies. You were doing that out of sheer spite.”

He remains silent. _He’s such a child. All right, if you don’t want to own up. Looks like it’s going to be extracted._

“Is this really bothering you? Jack being here?”

He sighs then, defeated. **He had gone quite far. He just wanted the asshole to remember how it felt. He wanted to see how it felt on his face. He could lie to her, but they had promised not to.**

He moves over to sit next her, his elbows on his knees, fidgeting with his hands in front of him.

**He still isn’t ready for the brutality of admitting it directly into her eye.**

“No, not until he started answering me back. But yeah, I just didn’t expect him…” he sits up straight, throwing his hands in the air, his voice growling louder as he looks across the room, “…to be a fuckin’ poster boy for fuckin’ all-American boy next door for fuck sake. The fucking perfect stallion of a man who I could never compare to even when I was younger.” He looks back down to his chest, becoming quieter, **embarrassed** , as he returns his hand back to her waist, rubbing slightly at her hip. “But I was trying to forget it and make an effort.”

_She knew that was hard for him to admit considering before his heart attack he had zero emotional ability. She wished he would stop being so self-conscious about how he looked. She understood he might do this, but how wasn’t about how the guy looked. She loved him._

“I asked him questions. About where he was from. I was really trying. But then he mentioned Anzio and I saw a weakness. I felt so much more powerful from him and it all came back. Like I wanted him to feel small. And then when he fought back, that was it.” He put his head in his hands. **He felt bad. Complete pride was making him act like this. He had been doing so well. He just couldn’t stop himself.**

_He was distressed. Warring with himself. She understood that. Had been doing it to herself for years._

She put her hand on his upper arm, rubbed up and down twice.

“Why did you bring up his wife? You know that was below the belt, even for you, Ace. Imagine someone said that to you about me.”

**She was right. He would tear them limb from limb. Would happily take the jail time.**

“You’re right. I couldn’t help myself. I wanted him to know I knew. I wanted him to hurt and I wanted to see his hurt. I wanted to see a person who caused my hurt to be hurt like I was. It made me feel good. But you’re right. If someone said something to me even now about that, I would kill them. Without a doubt. It was uncalled for. Just him looking the way he does and he’s a nice guy. I wasn’t expecting it. But just look at him.” He stands up again, gesturing his arm to the dining room, “I wouldn’t even blame you for going back to him, considering I can’t give you anything physically just now. I mean, just look at him.”

_Is that what he’s honestly so worried about? That she’s going to jump back into Jack’s bed._

She stands and grabs his arm, getting him to face her. She lifts her hand to his face and gets him to look her in the eye.

“I know it’s hard, baby.” She moves her hand to his check, running her thumb across his cheek bone. “But you have nothing to worry about. Absolutely nothing. I’m not going back to Jack or any of the others, or anyone new for that matter! Just remember everything I’ve already told you. I want you, Ace. No one else. Why the fuck would I want a boy when I can have a man? Specifically, you. You saw how I was when you only _touched_ me the other night, Ace. How intense it was. You think that’s something I have with everyone? Because it isn’t. You think I’m going to give up everything we have now for a roll in the hay now that I finally have you? Not a fucking chance.”

He shrugs his shoulders, looking into her eyes.

**He has been stupid. This is what he told himself when he first seen Jack. She had said that the boy was afraid of her, and he was starting to see that. The boy hadn’t even been able to hold eye contact when Avis had passed him his drink for fuck sake.**

**It was clear the guy wasn’t going to be able to seduce Avis again without her consent. She clearly ran the show. He had to trust her. Trust everything, he had seen in the past few days. Remember the emotion she had expressed and everything she had told him about her pining for him. He did trust her. Why would he think Avis would ever do that?**

“I’m sorry. I was a jerk,” he brings his arms around her waist, pulling her close.

“It’s not me you should be apologising to,” she raises her eyebrows at him, giving him a tap on the cheek, which he starts at.

“Wow, was that necessary?” He laughs breathily.

“Yes. Yes, it was. Now I’m getting hungry, so let’s go,” she says as she puts her hand under his arm, moving next to him to start walking in.

“This studio head thing has made you a lot bossier,” he laughs.

She laughs heartily, “you and I both know that I’ve always been this way. Let’s not lie.”

“True,” he nods smiling.

When they enter the dining room, their guests already seated and in deep conversation. She’s surprised when he follows her to her seat, to pull out her chair. She smiles seductively at him, “well thank you”, she says as she steps to her seat. However, just short of taking her seat, she turns to him, getting close to is ear, and whispers so no one else can hear, “don’t forget to think of my stockings.” She pulls back, takes a deep breath, looking him directly in the eye heatedly, and gives a wink. _That should distract him for a while._ His expression is so shocked that she can’t help smiling greatly when she turns back to the guests and takes her seat, he almost forgets to push the chair in. **Absolute minx.**

Ace surprises everyone again by coming up behind Jack’s seat and speaking directly to him, “Jack, could I have a word in the other room? Will just take a moment.”

No one was more surprised than Jack, though he was the only one who was frightened.

Jack follows Ace to drawing room, who walks directly to the drinks when he enters.

“I won’t be long,” Ace says as he pours a healthy portion of a scotch, turning to Jack who is standing awkwardly in the middle of the room.

“Here,” he says passing the drink to Jack. “I’m off the stuff.”

Jack awkwardly smiles and takes a large helping of the scotch, looking to Ace nervously as he gulps it down.

“I just wanted to apologise for what I said before...”

Jack splutters, “oh Mr Amberg, it’s all right, I…”

“No. I was in the wrong. I got heated in there and I went below the belt and it was uncalled for. You obviously know, I know what happened between you and… Mrs Amberg…”

Jack is squirming now, not knowing where to look. He looks to the floor, to the wall, the fireplace, anywhere but Ace.

“Sir… I’m sorry… I needed the money… there was nothing there…” His eyes were gesturing all over the place.

Ace held up both of his hands, gesturing for Jack to calm down. “It’s all right. I’m not going to hit you. She has explained everything to me. But you can imagine how it feels considering your wife did the same, yeah?”

He raises his eyebrows at Jack, who drains the rest of his drink, and simply nods as he tries to ignore the burning of this throat as he attempts to swallow.

“So, you understand why I got a little heated and maybe a little spiteful?”

“Yeah, sir. I understand. I would probably be the same.” He is nodding repetitively.

“Good. No hard feelings?” Ace extends his hand out to Jack, who looks at it surprisingly before looking Ace in the eye for the first time in the whole conversation and shakes his hand.

“No, sir. Thank you,” he says still not letting go of the hand he is still shaking.

**God, the boy really was a nervous wreck. Yeah, there was no way this guy was gonna bag Avis again. Not a chance.**

“All right. Let’s get back in for dinner. They will think I’ve buried you in the garden by now,” he says laughing heartily removing his hand and moving to lead him into the dining room.

Jack laughs awkwardly as he gulps and follows Ace into the dining room.

_They had been gone a while. What the hell was he saying to Jack? God, she hoped he didn’t make it worse._

They walk back into the dining room then, laughing. _Laughing_. She sees Jack look over to Ellen giving a nervous nod, signalling that everything was fine. Ace smiles, taking his seat. He looks Avis directly in the eye, winks, and smiles flirtatiously at her. _It must have gone well._

He then directs his attention to Jack, “the recipe for that pasta is right out of Sicily, Jack. You’re gonna love it!”

***

Dinner had been a more joyous event.

Jack had learned his lesson by mainly nodding along. _She suspects Ellen might have given him that little word of advice considering she had earned a subtle wink from her when she had first sat down at the table._ Ace also seemed to be enjoying himself more. His eyes boring into hers every so often as she shot him a flirty smile, or a wink. She also occasionally caught him staring at her when she happened to be absentmindedly stroking pearls. They had been communicating with their eyes over a dining table for years. Often as the perfect double act when entertaining important people, taking subtle cues from one another. Then there had been when it was more spiteful or suspicious. However, going back to the old days of flirtation was a welcome reinstatement.

Their conversation pieces had also been much more fun. _Gossip. How she loved Hollywood gossip._ They had been discussing an array of things. Ellen had kicked everything off with the juiciest gossip she had heard in a while. Ellen had heard from a girlfriend that Ingrid Bergman had been having an affair with Roberto Rosselini, becoming pregnant, whilst filming with him in Italy. The room had instantly become less tense, with everyone astonished. Everyone was discussing if she would divorce or get an abortion. Sparking the debate of how she was one of plenty. Dick had brought up how Judy Garland, Bette Davis, and Joan Crawford had all been forced to have abortions before, with Avis starting a sexism debate about how Clark Gable had a hidden child with Loretta Young and was not being persecuted so why should Ingrid!

She had been asked about Eleanor and was updating them about her book about being the first lady, and her work at the United Nations Commission on Human Rights. She had told them about how she had decided to stay in the Park Sheraton hotel in New York for the foreseeable, though she was still occasionally going to her home in London, and she was hoping to go and see her soon. Then there was the gossip about how Walter Wanger shot his wives agent in the dick because he suspected the guy was flirting. _Well she was glad that Ace hadn’t had that reaction to her. It showed how he was actually coping with it quite well._

Dick and Ace had bored everyone talking about the new railroad construction across the country, and the General Election in Britain. She swiftly changed the conversation to how they were due to hold the first ever Emmy award show ceremony to recognise the introduction of Television. _She still couldn’t bring herself to buy one. She didn’t know why. She was just put off by the whole thing. She was a movie gal at heart, television was just cheap._ Jack, however, had piped up at that. Had begun to talk about a tv show he had seen.

They luckily were able to avoid the discussion of the studio. Ellen and Dick had been on a strict warning from her not to anyway. But it didn’t prevent them talking about other studios and what they were filming or green lighting. Apparently, the book she had bought Ace, ‘Father of the Bride’ had been green lighted at MGM. So far that young actress Elizabeth Taylor had been cast, and there were talks of Spencer Tracey taking a role. She was also shocked to hear about Gloria Swanson making a comeback. She had known Gloria from her earlier years in Hollywood but hadn’t spoken to her in years, especially since she had bombed in the talkies and went back to the stage. Also, surprising to both her and Ace, was MGM picking up Annie get your Gun with Betty Hutton. They had seen Ethel do it on Broadway years before, so they just couldn’t imagine anyone else in the role. They were shocked that Judy got the role first and was fired after no shows on the lot, but they couldn’t even imagine anyone doing it over Ethel. But apparently Ethel wasn’t interested in doing movies which was a crying shame because she would have been marvellous.

 **He had felt much better at dinner.** **He guessed that talking to Avis and apologising to Jack had helped immensely. The flirtation also was an added bonus. How could he be angry and jealous when she was like this with him. How could he doubt her? How could he forget everything she had told him in the last week? They had come so far since then. Also, the conversation had been distracting. He was glad again to be able to talk about the stuff with Dick that he had been missing. And Gloria Swanson back in movies? Wouldn’t be him who took that risk, but Louis must know something he didn’t. And Walter shooting the guy in the dick? Jesus.**

After dinner, they had retreated again to the drawing room to entertain everyone for a little longer. However, everyone had left by 9.30pm, which he had to admit he was thankful for. It had been a long day and he was becoming tired. Jack had been first to leave, _thankfully_. _She didn’t want another accidental crisis._ Claire had walked him out, taking a little too long at the front doorstep, and retreated immediately to her room after a quick goodnight. He had been sitting in the living room, his head lolled back, and his eyes closed when Avis walked back into the room after showing Ellen and Dick out.

“Are you tired? I was going to suggest sitting in the garden to get some of that fresh air you’ve been speaking so highly of?”

He opens one eye to look at her, she was standing above him.

“I’m up for that. But it might be chilly so I would grab a coat.”

She smiles at that, “all right, give me a minute.”

After only a few minutes of hearing her thump up and then back down the stairs, she enters in her sable, fixing the collar to sit properly.

“Ready?”

He smiles, **she doesn’t even know how cute she is.** “Yeah.”

She turns, grabbing her cigarette case and lighter, putting them in her pocket, then moving to the back of the house to the French windows, as he follows. She walks outside, takes a few steps, stopping dead in her tracks, giving a huge deep breath of the fresh air. He stops abruptly behind her, not realising what she is doing at first. When he realises, he does the same. _He was right. It did feel good._ **God, he loves it out here.**

She resumes her path, leading the way to the poolside loungers, the lights surrounding the pool and from the pool itself providing all the visibility she needs. She stops at two partially reclined loungers that are sitting close together, pushing them completely together so that they are touching. She goes around to the one on the left, sitting and swinging her legs around, to lie down, crossing them at the ankle. He follows suit, making himself comfortable on the other, looking immediately up to the black sky covered in stars.

She remains sitting up whilst she retrieves her cigarette case and lighter from her deep pocket. Expertly pulling the cigarette out and lighting it, she offers him one.

However, he shakes his head, “I’ll take a few draws from yours.”

She clips the case shut, placing it and the lighter back into her pocket, exhaling a large cloud of smoke.

“Will you now?” She raises her eyebrows and lies back. He remains silent, chuckling briefly, still looking at the sky. She takes another draw of the cigarette and passes it to him, looking up to the sky herself now, observing, “It’s beautiful, isn’t it?”

He takes the cigarette off her, only taking his eyes of the stars and moon for a moment. “The sky? Yeah, it’s stunning.”

“No, the cigarette,” she says deadpan and turns to look at him.

He turns his head to look at her, seeing her expressionless face. **The cigarette? She was mad.**

She bursts out laughing, turning her head back to the sky.

“Yeah, the sky.”

He laughs then, taking a long draw of the cigarette, passing it back to her.

She takes it back, bringing it directly to her mouth.

“The stars twinkling. Just makes you remember your such a small thing in such a huge world,” she bats the cigarette over the patio, ridding it of the ash.

He takes a deep breath, “yeah…”

They remain silent for a minute, when he starts talking again.

“This whole heart attack has definitely made me realise all the things I want to still do. I think we should take a long vacation as soon as my fitness is back up.”

She takes a draw of the cigarette, offering it to him, “oh yeah? Here you can finish it.” He takes it off of her, taking a draw. “That would be good… where are you thinking?”

“I’m not really sure. There isn’t a limit. We can go to lots of different places. I think I would like to go back to New York. Have a look at all the places I used to when I was a kid. We have been back so many times and yet it it’s always meetings, convincing actors to sign a contract, forcing ourselves to see people we didn’t want to see. I would like to just go and explore what we did when we were kids. I want to see where you grew up in Long Island. We never did that. I never showed you my Brooklyn when I was growing up as a kid. We could go see your sisters, my brother. We haven’t seen them in so long.” He pauses taking a final draw of his cigarette and then flicking it across the patio to burn out. He gives a huge exhale as he clasps his hands in front of him, as she turns on her side to face him.

_She would like to see her sisters. Each time she had gone, it had always been a whirlwind that she hardly seen them, and she did miss them. She hadn’t seen their kids in such a long time. Perhaps eight years. What did they even look like now? She would like to take them out and treat them when she next visited. And whilst Ace’s sister was a headache, his brother had always been kind. He reminded her a lot of Ace. His brother was older, ran his own grocer’s, had taken over it when Ace’s father had died. Ace had offered him money in the past to open another in a better area, but his brother had always declined._

“I would like that,” she says softly, smiling, as she places a hand on his upper arm. He moves his hand to take hers and clasp it between his, holding it over his chest.

“We don’t have to only do that. I would still like to go to the same places we always do, and I saw an advertisement for South Pacific on Broadway. That would be good. Just want to see a little bit of my old neighbourhood, ya know?”

“Yeah, I know what you mean.”

She moves closer to him, leans her head on his shoulder. He reacts by moving the arm closest to her over her head so he can wrap his arm around her shoulder, and she can snuggle into him.

“Ace Amberg, so help me god, if I fall in between the gap in these loungers, I’m going to kill you.” She is deadpan as she snuggles closer into him.

He laughs at that, “okay sit up and shift over your side,” he says, sitting up himself. He shifts himself into the middle of the two loungers, using his size as a barrier, lying back down and beckoning her to return to her previous position, which she does willingly.

Once they are settled back in, he resumes, “I would also like to go back to Europe. I always enjoyed London, but I haven’t actually seen it in since I first went there almost 15 years ago.”

“I love London,” she says as she snuggles in, rubbing her hand across his chest.

“But also, Scotland. We have never gone there, and it’s supposed to be beautiful. They have castles, and the golf! St. Andrews is supposed to have the best courses, where it all originated.”

She rolls her eyes and laughs, “oh yeah, that sounds like a barrel of laughs!”

He laughs and rubs his hand up and down her arm, “only for one day. The whole country is supposed to be stunning, Avis, and I wouldn’t mind going back to Paris, though I can’t imagine what it must be like now after the war.” **He ventures carefully now, trying to be nonchalant to fish to information.**

“And you remember the museums there. How beautiful they were. And you became obsessed with that painting you were obsessed with there? Wouldn’t stop talking about it?”

She whispers now, “A Jewish Wedding. Jozef Israels.” She exhales loudly, “the most beautiful painting I have ever seen. It was just so, so beautiful. It reminded me of every wedding I remembered seeing when I was a child. That even when everyone in our community were scraping by, that was always the thing that they wouldn’t scrimp on. That weddings always brought so much joy and peace to everyone. It was just so tranquil when you look at it. I hope we looked like that when we got married. I mean I was pregnant and hardly in my youth so maybe not, but still. One can hope.”

**Thank Christ. Time to change the subject.**

“Yeah, it was pretty beautiful. It would be great to go back and see that, if it’s still there. And Rome. We didn’t spend a lot of time there. I would like to spend longer there. But there are so many places I wish we had gone to that we never did. Nice, Spain, Monte Carlo, Switzerland. I would say Japan but who knows how welcome we are there. Is there anywhere you would want to go to?”

“All those places sound brilliant. I think I would like to go to Hawaii. Just to sit and soak up the sun. Drink all day, lounge by the pool. I mean we could do it here, but it’s so beautiful there.” Her eyes are closed now, her head leaning over his beating heart.

“It would be great just to get away. We could even bring Claire along for some of it. We never really did a lot of that. I have enjoyed the time we have spent together, recently. I’m looking forward to getting back to work, but it’s time to actually start setting aside time for ourselves. Spending the money we have, to do the things we want to do. It’s no good to me when I’m dead.”

She flinches at that, “oh, don’t say that. But I know what you mean, I have enjoyed spending time together also. It seems to be another thing we have been lacking over the years. Spending time together, unforced, because we want to enjoy things together and each other.”

“Yeah… oh my god! I forgot! I have a surprise,” he moves to get up, but she keeps him pinned down as she raises her head to him, blankly.

“Is this the last gift?”

He chuckles, “no, it’s not. That’s not arrived. Just get up and I will show you.”

She rises sceptically, “it’s not the gift? Then what is it?”

He rises and stands next to his lounger, “follow me and you’ll find out.”

He offers his hand to her, which she eyes up and takes sceptically. He laughs at her, “don’t you trust me?”

They walk toward the house, him taking the lead, “no,” she says flatly, though comically.

He laughs even harder, “wow, stab to the heart.” He leads her directly into the drawing room and sits her on sofa.

“Okay, take your coat off and close your eyes.”

“Ace! I don’t…”

But he interrupts her, “Avis, for once do what your told!”

He laughs and stares down at her. She huffs childishly and stands to remove her coat dramatically, giving him a fake cheeky smile before sitting back down hard. She huffs dramatically and closes her eyes.

He walks across the room, “and no peaking!”

She sits with her eyes closed, trying to listen for a clue. _If he bought her something else expensive, she swears to god. She doesn’t care what it is, it’s going back._ However, she hears the scratching of the record player as the turntable spins. _What’s he going to do? Sing her a ballad? She was the singer of the family, not he._

However, she next hears the last thing she had expected. 

**_“Those words that everyone knows._ **

**_But my thoughts get mangled,_ **

**_And all the words get tangled,”_ **

She opens her eyes to look him as he stands on the middle of the room, smiling at her.

He had put on the record she bought him. From ‘On the Town’. She smiled greatly.

He approaches her, smiling roguishly, and offers his hand, “well?”

**_“But since you asked me, here goes:_ **

**_You're awful, awful good to look at,_ **

**_Awful nice to be with, awful sweet to have and hold.”_ **

****

“You want to dance?” _Why is she so surprised by that? Why is she so elated by that? They hadn’t danced in a while if she thought back. And it was always the obligatory, can all the couples in the room come to the floor at a wedding. Or a way to get out of a boring conversation with a client. Or her being thrown to cut in, swapping partners with a client and his wife to finesse them. She didn’t remember the last time he had asked her to dance, just because he wanted to dance._

She remains silent, still shocked, and nods, taking his hand and standing up. He places the hand not holding hers instantly around her waist, as hers finds his shoulder. He begins to sway her around.

**_“You're nothing, nothing if not lovely,_ **

**_Nothing if not dazzling, nothing but pure gold,”_ **

“I always felt like this song was a lot like us. You know, an insult with some hidden love. We were always good at the teasing. The I love you… kind of… thing we always had. Like we were embarrassed of being so frank. Like we always were afraid to say it out loud. Like it was a secret. We, also, just wanted to rile each other up.”

He continues to sway her around the room, pulling her in closer, bringing his face closer to hers.

**_“You're frightening, frightening me when you say_ **

**_That you might go away,_ **

**_You're boring, boring into my heart to stay.”_ **

****

“Yeah, exactly,” she whispers, her forehead pressed to his now, as her eyes close. _She had always thought of them when she heard this song. They had gone to the premiere of this together only six months ago. She had remembered hiding her tears quickly in the theatre, when it had been sung. She had felt so sad then. So sad that she wasn’t able to say what she felt. So sad that he didn’t feel the same anymore. Just the reminder of the teasing they used to have had been a lot to process. She had cried horribly in the bathroom when she had got home that evening. It was so upsetting because she loved the movie, but that song had cut her. Opened wounds she wasn’t prepared to open._

**_“You're cheap, dear, cheap at any price, dear,_ **

**_Cheap for such a diamond, Cheap for such a pearl,_ **

**_What I said before, I'll say again,_ **

**_You're awful, awful nice to be my girl.”_ **

He continues to sway her around in circles, holding her tight. Pulling his forehead away to rest upon her head so she could snuggle into his chest.

**It was exactly how he felt now. He had loved the movie but remembered hearing it in the theatre. It had made him sad when he had first heard it. He remembered hanging on every word. It made him so reminiscent of how they used to be. Their repertoire and how he had never had that with anyone since. He had missed her so much in that moment. But when he listened to them now it was exactly what he thought. How had he scored such a diamond, such a pearl so easily. How was she his?**

**_“You're old, dear, old with worldly wisdom,_ **

**_Old like Gorgonzola, old like vintage French champagne,_ **

**_You're so-so, so-so,_ **

**_so-so kinda charming,_ **

**_So-so kind of witty,_ **

**_so I can't explain,”_ **

_It had felt so different listening to it now. It felt how they were now. How they would tease one another and then reveal how they really felt. It was more joyful now. Before she had felt so sad when she heard it thinking of what she used to have, listening to it now, it was a song telling her how she felt about him now. What she had with him now._

****

**_“Can't stand you, I can't stand you giving some fellow the eye,_ **

**_Can't see you in the arms of another guy,”_ **

****

“Ya know, at that premiere, I almost went to grab your hand in the theatre when I heard this. It made me miss you and what we had so much. The words rang so true. But then when my hand was halfway into making its move, I thought I heard her sniff, and then I looked around and seen you were stony faced. I thought you clearly hadn’t felt anything when you heard it. I didn’t think you felt the same.” He was whispering, as though he was telling her a secret, still swaying her to the music.

**“Who needs you', Need you to distraction,**

**Need you till he’s crazy, needs you rain or shine,”**

She pulled her head away from his chest, looking at him shocked. **Was she angry he hadn’t?**

“I felt something. I wasn’t stone faced. I had started to cry because it upset me so much. I was so sad, missing what we had. I was trying to hold it together so you and no one else in the theatre seen me.”

He smiled down at her, extracting his hand to hers, so he could bring it around her neck, “well it looks like we have both been really stupid.” She nods, a tear falling down her cheek as she looks him in the eye.

****

**_“I'm the one who needs you,_ **

**_And I think you're awful, awful nice to say you're mine.”_ **

He pulls her into a deep kiss at the last two lines as she wraps her arms around his back, pulling him in even deeper.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, I'm not sure how much longer this is going to last.  
> Not sure it's up to parr with what I was doing originally but we will see how it goes. 
> 
> Hope you enjoy :)


	14. We're going out!

It was Friday at 4pm which meant two whole days off until she had to go back into the studio! She had left at the same time as everyone else, an hour earlier than she usually would. She was excited though because she had something in the works for this evening that seemed to be coming together nicely. She had been working at giving Ace a little surprise considering all the lovely gifts he had got her. He had been complaining about being cooped up in the house so much, that she had been trying to think of something to do, and since going for a lovely meal was out of the question, she had had to be more original. However, today it was confirmed that everything was ready to go ahead. She had spoken to Ace briefly earlier today. He had been pretty spirited from the physical therapy so it looked as though a decent night may be ahead of her.

She enters the front door after zooming through Hollywood, in immediate pursuit for home. _They had to get eat and get ready!_ As soon as the door closes behind her Gertie is there to take her coat. She had spoken to Gertie earlier in the day and asked for an earlier dinner to be arranged for when she arrived home. She could instantly smell the food flowing from the kitchen. _Good, she had missed lunch today and was starving!_

“Where is Mr Amberg?” She starts to remove her sunglasses, moving them and her purse from hand to hand as Gertie helps her to remove her coat.

“He is in the garden, Mrs Amberg,” Gertie smiles keenly over shoulder, finally removing the coat.

“Thank you, Gertie. Whenever you’re ready with dinner you can find us in the garden.” Avis smooths down her dress and begins walking toward the french doors in the dining room to find Ace.

“Yes, Mrs Amberg,” Gertie says, smoothing the coat down and walking away from her.

When Avis closes the patio doors, the sun immediately hits her eyes, blinding her. She raises her hand to quickly shield her eyes, so she is not blinded. _Thank god she hadn’t had the chance to put her sunglasses in her purse yet when she had entered the house._ She reaches to try and open the arms of her sunglasses so she can manoeuvre them onto her face. Finally, when she has a little visibility, she sees a huge cloud of smoke coming from behind a bush in the direction of the pool. _Found him._

***

**He had had a really productive day. Tom had come early as usual; he was glad to have a reason to get up in the morning. He hated staying in bed all day. Unless it was because he was making love to a beautiful woman of course. His whole life he hadn’t stayed in bed past 8.30am unless for that reason, so being told he had to for a week was torturous. He hadn’t told Avis though, not wanting her to feel bad. She had gone to so much effort to buy all the things to help distract him, and to be honest without it, he likely would have thrown himself off their balcony. But the moving around, the walking, the stairs; he felt like he was making new accomplishments every day. Today had been no different. He had greeted Tom at the front door, wanting to show him how far he had been coming along, by walking around and getting down the stairs himself.**

**They had worked on stamina today. Tom had wanted to work on doing laps around the pool. He would walk around it for 10 laps at first with Tom so that he could work on consistent exercise. Tom had been there to encourage his breathing when he had got a little breathless. They had then done some small exercises to build up his legs muscles so that walking would become easier.**

**They had had to have a break until he could start the walking again. He had found out a lot about Tom as time went on. Had found out about all the guys he had treated in Hollywood. He had even treated Franklin D. Roosevelt when his health had started to decline. He knew that Franklin had high blood pressure, but not that he had heart disease leading to heart failure. He had heard about Tom’s life growing up in Chicago. It sounded pretty similar to his in the Bronx. His family not having much and him working him way up. Of course, Tom was younger than he. He was maybe 15 years younger than Ace, but their childhoods sounded pretty similar. Amazing how there was so few of them who made it and how everyone’s lives can go in such a different direction. They talked a lot about baseball. Tom was of course a Cubs fan, but he wasn’t gonna hold that against him.**

**The rest of the day he had completed five more sets of 10 laps and even increased it to 20 laps twice. He was exhausted after it though, settling on the lounger when Tom had left. Saul arrived not long after for a review of his health. He had been nice enough to not make him climb the stairs to do it, opting instead for the sunshine. Saul had apparently bumped into Tom in the driveway and spoken to him about his exercise. Tom felt he was coming along brilliantly and was going to start with some swimming tomorrow. He was excited about that. He really felt like he was coming along great. Saul had taken readings, his blood pressure, his heart rate, and reported that everything seemed to be pretty steady. He was told to come in for bloodwork on Monday.**

**However, Saul had given the best news of all. Firstly, that if he was still like this on his return on Monday then he could return to the studio for half days on Monday! He was ecstatic. He had never felt so out of the loop. It had been his life for so long. Not being able to be told anything about your own studio was torturous. But secondly, he was allowed to try and relieve himself by masturbating. It had been a bit of an awkward conversation. Saul had come out so frankly that he had spluttered his cola all over the patio. He had asked how long it might be until he could actually have intercourse. Saul had said that would also be reviewed on Monday and he should try out relieving himself until then. Monday was looking up to be the best day of his life.**

**After Saul’s departure he had had a nap in the sun. It had been glorious. He had been pretty beat from all the exercise that he couldn’t stop himself from drifting off, his sunglasses providing a nice shadow for his eyes. He had been awoken by Gertie at 4.15pm who had informed him that dinner would be ready soon and asked if he would like another cola. Why was dinner so early anyway?**

When Gertie had left, he lit his cigar and lay back, closing his eyes, taking in the heat and the glow. He hears something fidget behind him but pays it no mind. The sun is too good to be distracted by something stupid. 

“Well look who it is out in the sun, lounging around all day getting a tan whilst I go out and work my ass off all day!” He hears her shout from behind him, he laughs and takes a draw of cigar. He exhales a huge cloud of smoke, his eyes still closed, looking at the sun, as he hears her sit on the lounger next to him.

“What can I say? I’m enjoying being a kept man.”

She swings her legs around as she had last night, extracting her cigarette case from her purse with the lighter. She lights is quickly, placing everything back into the purse, and disposing of it on the ground. She takes a huge drag of her cigarette and exhales, lying down, swinging her legs over to his lounger, and draping them across his knees.

“I can see that... Look at you in shorts,” she says whistling and then smiling, stealing a glance at him.

He opens his eyes finally, raising a leg to run it against hers, “was thinking of trying out to be a Rockette.”

She laughs, taking another draw of her cigarette and exhaling, “I would come see you. I can put in a good word for you.”

“Please do,” he says taking a puff of his cigar. He moves his free hand down to stroke her leg, bending his leg to encourage her legs to fall up to his stomach.

“Woooooww,” she says laughing, trying to stop herself from falling off the lounger. She slaps his arm with her free hand, as she sits up to face him so she can keep her legs strewn across him. He starts to run his hand from her ankle to venture under her dress to her lower thigh and then back down.

“How was work?” He asks reaching to the ashtray to put his cigar out.

“Just fabulous! How was your physio? And Saul?” She continues to puff on her cigarette.

He continues his ministrations across her legs, however, massaging with both hands now, placing all his concentration in them as he talks. “Just fine. We were doing stamina today. I must have done 100 laps of the pool today all in so was pretty beat. But Tom told Saul I was doing great, and that we are going to start swimming tomorrow. Then Saul came and took readings and stuff which are all fine. And he told me that I can start trying to _relieve_ myself,” he says raising his eyebrows, stopping his movements, looking to her.

“Oh!” She raises her own eyebrows. _She knows what this means now since he shouted it down the phone to her the other day embarrassingly when she was with Ellen._ She takes another puff of her cigarette and passes it to him, gesturing for him to put it out in the ashtray.

“Well that’s good. Have you…” She bulges her eyes, _which doesn’t work so well when you have sunglasses on_ , and nods her head towards his crotch, “ya know… given it a go?”

He catches her meaning and resumes his massaging of her legs, “not yet. I was exhausted after Saul left. I fell asleep out here until maybe ten minutes ago.”

She gives a hum and moves her hand towards his upper arm, rubbing it up and down. _She was nervous about him doing it. She knows she shouldn’t. Afterall the doctors knew more than her. But he did have a heart attack the last time he did anything like that. She would rather he never do it again if it meant keeping him with her._

“Do you know when you will?”

He laughs now, “I hadn’t picked a specific time and location, Avis.” He continues laughing as he pulls her shoes off to knead her arches.

She hums again, her brow furrowed.

“He said that I need to take it easy when I do. That it’s obviously going to be quick since it’s been so long, and that I will of course have an elevated heartbeat. He said I should stop if it feels too much to handle, but with the breathing exercises I’ve been shown, they might just be the best things I’ve been shown to get me through the fear of it. It’s apparently normal for people to feel scared of it after they have a heart attack. But he said as long as I lie on my back and not exercise the first time and and only do… you know… it, then after a while, I will get used to the breathing and can move onto the full act.”

She nods her head again, her nails scraping absentmindedly across his upper arm again.

“And are _you_ scared?” She tries to sound as soothing as possible.

“Nah, not really. It might come when I’m actually doing it though, yi know?”

“Yeah… Do you want me to be there? Or do you want to be alone? Or you can be alone, and I can be close by just in case? Or…” She sounds more panicked now.

“Avis…” he pauses his massaging, bringing a hand up to the one clawing at his arm, he takes it in his hand, bringing it to his mouth to kiss it. “I’ve not really thought about it, honey. I think it’s just best to go with the flow naturally. It’s best not to force something like that or it will create more strain. So, if you’re there, you’re there. If not, it’s okay. Don’t sit and think about it, okay? I’m not.”

She nods her head as he released her hand so he can go back to working on her arches as he continues.

“Anyway, there is other news. Looks like Monday is the big day because I’ve to go in on Monday morning to see Saul so he can take some blood work. But he says he’s going to review everything then and see if not only I can do the deed fully in bed, but also to see if I can go back to work for half-days.”

Her head bounces up at that, “back to work so soon?”

_She is worried about that. Doesn’t Saul realise how much stress that what she has to tell him will likely cause. She doesn’t think Saul understands the full implications of what going back to work might cause for Ace stress wise. It would be good to have him back though. She admits that it is hard to be the boss, so some alleviation would be welcome. But also, for them to be able to work together as a team would also be marvellous._

“Yeah, if everything goes well,” he’s smiling brightly at her, excited about going back to work. “And in case you didn’t hear me, he also said about me being able to BLOW YOUR FUCKIN’ MIND, like we have been waiting for,” he says laughing heartily after.

“I heard,” she says laughing also. “But I couldn’t possibly build my hopes up for that considering the number of near misses we have already had. This could push me over the edge and take you on Monday regardless of Saul’s approval.”

He laughs at that, stopping his ministrations and closing his eyes on the lounger again, exhaling deeply. **Everything was coming together.**

“Anyway, I have news of my own,” she says seductively, tracing a pattern on his chest now.

He opens his eyes immediately and looks towards her.

“We’re going out!” She smiles greatly at him.

“When?” He’s clearly confused.

“Tonight. You have been bored of sitting in this house and whilst this garden is stunning, I should know, I designed it myself, we are going to have dinner here, and then we are going out!”

Gertie comes out of the house then, “Mr and Mrs Amberg, dinner is ready!”

“Thank you, Gertie! We will be right there!” She shouts, never taking her eyes from Ace, smiling whilst shrugging her shoulders and swinging her legs from him to the ground so he is freed.

“But… But… where are we going?” He doesn’t make a move.

She stands now, looking down at him, holding her hands out to him to help him up. He swings his own legs around to hit the ground, whilst taking her hands.

“It’s a surprise!” She begins to pull on his hands, bringing him up so they are body to body.

“We’re really going out? Why can’t you just tell me?” He is looking down at her, wrapping his arms around her waist, her hands coming automatically up to his shoulders. **Maybe he could charm her**. He leans down to her mouth, nearly closing in, and quickly by-passes them to kiss her chin and down to her neck. She closes her eyes, getting lost in the sensation, giving a raspy gasp.

“Well you have given me so many nice gifts over the last few days, that I thought it was time to return the favour.”

He pulls back from her neck and comes an inch away from her mouth.

“You don’t need to return anything, babe,” he closes the gap beginning a deep kiss. She pulls back before it gets too heated though.

“I’m glad to,” she extracts herself much to his displeasure. She quickly bends down to pick up her purse and discarded shoes, and begins walking to the house shouting over her shoulder.

“Dinner is waiting!”

He shakes his head, laughing under his breath as he follows her.

***

They eat dinner very quickly. She is glad he doesn’t press about where they are going after dinner. She is able to sway away the conversation to what he had found out about Tom, and the gossip they had discovered last night.

Unluckily when they go upstairs to get changed, he begins trying to guess where they are going like a child. He claims that he needs to know where they are going to know how dressed up to be. She tells him to wear a nice suit and stop asking. Once she changes and touches up her make-up a little, they are in the car in no time.

Much to her surprise he is silent almost the whole way there. The top is down, Glenn Miller is on the radio, and as she drives, he simply looks at everything around him. Every so often she turns around to look at him and with each time her smile gets wider. _He is so excited. He is looking around him like he’s just off the train from New York for the first time. She imagines this is what he must have looked like when he first saw Hollywood over 30 years ago. She loves most when he is like this. More free-spirited, calm, and just enjoying himself._

He loves looking all around him, every so often he closes his eyes and throws his head back, allowing the fresh air to hit his face.

**This is brilliant. He feels so alive. He realises she is singing along to the radio. She is singing along to ‘Perfidia’. One of his favourites. He had loved it since it was first released. It had been one of the last songs they had loved together before they drifted apart. Glenn Miller had then released it making it his favourite version of the song, and then it had shown up in his favourite movie, Casablanca. However, when she sang it, it was his ultimate favourite. She never realised when he was listening to her sing. Usually it would be whilst she was in the bathroom singing to herself, or along to the radio when she thought she was drowned out. She had the most beautiful singing voice. Probably could have made it or been on Broadway if someone had put the time into training her professionally. She had such a natural ability and strength to her voice. He could die happy in this car, taking in the fresh air, listening to her sing his favourite song. He had almost forgotten what it looked like. He felt like it had been forever. He drove this way to work every day and yet for the first time he was really looking around him. He saw the bright lights, the store fronts with frocks and televisions, the kids running away from their mothers, the couples holding hands, and then when he looks ahead of him, he sees the Hollywood sign. It was home. He had never really taken it in before. He felt so emotional he could weep.**

**But why were they heading toward the studio?**

Just as the thought came to him, they turned into the road that lead only to the studio.

“We’re going to the studio? I’m not supposed to be here, Avis.”

“No one will be there, and what Saul doesn’t know won’t hurt him,” she smiles mischievously, winking through her sunglasses at him as she turns her attention back to the road ahead.

When they approach the large gate, she waves to the security guard who opens it for them.

“Hi, Mr Amberg!” The security guard taking off his hat and waving it to Ace enthusiastically as thy drive by. Ace smiling and waves in response.

“What are we doing here, Avis?”

“It’s a surprise,” she says as she parks in their parking spot.

When the car goes stationary, she takes off her sunglasses, placing them in her purse, and turns to him, smiling excitedly, bringing her hands up and moving them from side-to-side. Whilst he enjoys her enthusiasm, he’s completely confused and a little let down. **He thought they were doing something fun. Whilst he misses the look of those big gates donning his name within that huge arch and also being at work, this wasn’t what he had in mind when she told him that they were going out. Was he going to sit and watch her do work or something? Everyone was always gone for the day by this point. It’s not like anyone was filming.**

“You ready?” She says nudging him, shuffling in her seat from side to side excitedly.

**He can’t let her down. She obviously thought this was great and it was better than sitting at home. He would have taken just the drive.**

“Yeah…” he says as he opens the car door, meeting her at the pavement. She takes him by the hand and turns to her right moving down the street. **Why were we going this way?**

“Aren’t we going up to the office?”

“No, stop asking questions,” she says ahead of him, still pulling him by the hand. She takes a sharp turn to her left going into the side entrance of the main building. There is a security guard standing by the door, ready to open it for her when he sees their arrival.

“Hi, Jimmy,” Avis greets, as she pauses to talk to him, not letting go of Ace’s hand.

“Mr Amberg, Mrs Amberg,” the security guard stands proudly, smiling, nodding to each of them in turn, “glad to see you back Mr Amberg.”

Ace smiles kindly, “thanks, Jimmy. How’s the family?”

“Just fine, Mr Amberg. Thanks for asking,” but he turns his attention toward Avis now. “He’s up there waiting for you, Mrs Amberg.”

**Who’s up there waiting?**

“Perfect!” She pulls Ace by the hand through the door, shouting over her shoulder, “thanks, Jimmy!”

Once they are through the door, there are corridors going in three directions. **They could be going anywhere in the building at this point**.

“Who are we going to see? Who’s waiting?”

“Ace! You’re like a child! Have some damn patience,” she says laughing, pulling him straight ahead to the viewing theatre room. As they approach the room, entering the door, Harry is sitting on one of the chairs waiting for them.

“Harry!” Ace shouts, letting go of Avis’ hand and approaching the film editor and projectionist to shake his hand. _Harry was the greatest guy in this studio. He had known him since he first came to Hollywood. Of all the people who had written him off in the early years when he had talked of his aspirations, Harry had always listened and been encouraging. With his father dying when he was young and leaving is family back in New York, Harry had become a bit of a father figure. Had always given good wisdom and had been his go-to for advice. He had been relying on Harry’s advice for over 30 years now when making the toughest of decisions. He had been a faithful, loving man to his wife and two sons his whole life. A true gentleman who loved his craft. He had all the time in the world for Harry and was glad to see his familiar friendly face._

He shook Harry’s hand vigorously as Avis walked up behind him, placing an arm on Ace’s back.

“How are ya? Keeping well?” Ace asks enthusiastically.

“I think the question should be how are you, Ace?” Harry sceptically looks up to Ace over his glasses.

“Ahh, fine, fine. Healthy as a horse,” Ace responds happily, letting go of Harry’s hand patting his stomach, laughing joyfully.

Harry smiles nodding along, knowing that that is not the whole truth. He looks around Ace to get Avis’ attention.

“You wanna get comfortable whilst I get everything ready?”

“Yeah, thanks Harry!”

As Harry turns and quickly moves up the stairs and across the aisle to the door in the back corner, she comes up beside Ace, taking his arm, encouraging him to alight the stairs until they are in the middle two seats in the second last aisle. She sits, encouraging him to do so too. He looks down at her, his eyes drifting to the table between the two middle seats, seeing four glass bottles of Cola with a bottle opener, and a box of cigars next to the ashtray. She doesn’t see him looking as she gets comfortable, taking out her cigarette case and lighter, throwing them next to the ashtray. She then manoeuvres in the seat so that she can move her purse onto the table on the other side of her chair. As she turns back around to pick up the bottle opener, she notices that he is still standing and looks up at him. He is simply staring down at her confused as they hear the projector power up.

“Are you not going to sit down?” She’s smiling, laughing at him as if he were mad. He scoffs at that. **He, the mad one?**

“Are you not going to let me in on the secret now?”

She laughs and gestures her arms around to the room, “is it not obvious?”

He looks around the room to see if he can notice something different about it but looks back at her and shrugs.

“We are here to watch a movie, Ace.” **Oh, well that explains a lot.** He forgets to speak, still looking around for a clue of what they are going to watch.

She looks up at him again, narrowing her eyes. _So, not a good surprise after all._ She puts the bottle opener down and picks up her cigarette case, removing a cigarette, and then lighting it. She inhales deeply and exhales angrily.

“You don’t like it.” She says nodding angrily, biting at her upper lip, not looking him in the eye. _She was such an idiot._

“No, not at all! I just didn’t understand…” She cuts him off.

“No, Ace. It’s fine. I thought you would like to come here and see your favourite movie. I even got Harry to get the reel from one of his friends at Warner Brothers. We don’t need to stay,” she says standing up, taking another drag of her cigarette, and exhaling, putting it out in the ashtray. She turns to pick up her purse.

“Avis! Avis! Stop!” He shouts, grabbing the tops of both of her arms, halting her from running out of the room. **He was panicking now. He had come across as unimpressed when he was just obtuse.**

She stops, closing her eyes tightly facing him. _She’s not going to cry. It’s pathetic. She had been so excited. She thought he would love it. Oh hey, Ace. Do you want to come to your stressful workplace to watch a movie which you do on almost a daily basis as a profession, but for fun? Of course, he wouldn’t. She’s so stupid._ She is level with his chest, eyes still tight tightening her fists, breathing raggedly.

“I’m sorry, Ace. I honestly thought you would love it…”

“Avis!” He shouts again, so she doesn’t say anything further. Her eyes open quickly, jumping at his volume.

“I love it. I truly do. You put a lot of thought into this and I truly love it. It’s absolutely better than sitting at home. And all the trouble you went to, to get a reel from Warner Brothers. I am so thankful, truthfully. You’re amazing.”

She looks up now into his eyes, “you’re being serious? You don’t hate it. Because we can just go home if you don’t want to. I just thought you were sick of being stuck in the house, and we can’t go for a meal or anything because of the diet. And it doesn’t leave a lot of options. So, what better way than to see your favourite movie. I mean it must have been six years since you’ve seen it. And we literally have a private cinema…” She lifts her arms and gestures to the room, “with a projectionist who could access the reel and can put it on for us, so why not take advantage of that perk?” She looks up at him puppy eyed, looking for his approval. Just then, the projection light come on above them, catching part of his head as it falls to the screen in front.

He moves his hands down her arms, and reaches underneath them to settle on her hips, sneaking around her waist.

“Honestly, I love it. It’s amazing,” he leans forward to kiss her as she places her hands on his upper arms, responding eagerly.

“We _are_ thinking of the same movie, aren’t we?” He is smiling as he says it when he pulls back from the brief kiss.

“Casablanca. You’re favourite movie. Obviously.”

“Shit. You know me more than I thought.”

She rolls her eyes, pulling back from him, placing her purse back to its original perch, “we might not have been in a good place, Ace, but I’m not blind!”

He takes a seat now, laughing, making himself comfortable.

The door behind them opens and Harry appears, Avis still facing him, smiling to acknowledge his presence, hands on her hips.

“You both ready?”

“Yeah! Thanks again, Harry,” Avis smiles.

“What about the lights? Mid or all the way down?”

She looks down at Ace, pulling a face, shrugging, and then gesturing for him to decide.

“All the way down,” Ace shouts over his shoulder.

Harry gives Avis a wink as he turns back towards the room.

Avis sits in the seat, picking the bottle opener back up, opening two bottles and passing him one, then taking a swig of her own.

The movie starts to run on the screen, the Warner Brothers crest displayed, the lights go completely down, and he grabs her hand, holding it over the table between them, as the title of _‘Casablanca’_ , appears on screen.

They sit silently watching the movie the whole way through. They let go of each other’s hand for the occasional cigarette and puff of a cigar, and swig of Cola. He smiles widely when Perfidia plays in the ‘flashback to Paris’ sequence, taking her hand and squeezing it as he puffs on his cigar. However, when Ingrid Bergman says, “If you knew how much I loved you, how much I still love you,” both Ace and Avis gripped their hands tighter, shedding a tear, Avis immediately wiping hers away. They had both felt that hard. Felt that feeling for each other deeply before.

As ‘The End’ appears on the screen, they both are wiping away tears, still grasping onto each other’s hands. The lights come up as Avis turns around to look at Ace, laughing that he too is wiping at his eyes. He looks at her and smiles as Harry appears behind them out of the door. They look around hearing his presence and see he is also wiping away tears,

“Gets me every time!” Harry shouts, putting his hands on his braces.

Both of them laugh as they begin to stand up and stretch.

“Someone will come in and clear this up tomorrow,” Harry says as he watches Avis eye up the mess.

“Thank you, Harry, for everything,” she says as she holds out her arm to him, reaching to take his hand as she approaches him, gripping his hand tightly. Ace reaches over his chair, shaking his hand tightly again, “Thanks! I loved it. Thanks for getting it from Warner Brothers as well. Must have been a hard one.”

“Nah, I got a chum over there from back in the day. He owed me one,” Harry says releasing his hand and winking. “I’m going to go back up and shut everything down. I will see you Monday!”

“See you Monday! Thanks again!” Avis says, collecting her cigarette case and lighter, slipping it into her purse. Ace has already started walking down the stairs as Avis follows. He opens the door for her and gestures for her to move through before him. They walk silently to the door where they see the door leading outside already open.

“Thanks Jimmy!” They both shout in unison as they exit through the door he’s opening for them. He simply tips his hat in response.

When they are out of the door, she smiles up at him and takes the arm he’s offering, beginning their walk to the car.

“Well is it just as good six years later?”

“Even better,” he responds tapping at her hand in the crook of his arm.

“So, what do you want to do now?” She asks as they get closer to the car.

“I don’t know. I don’t really want to go home though. But I don’t really have any ideas of what we could do,” he offers letting go of her arm as she approaches her side of the car, he walks around the car to his side.

She hums loudly as she throws her purse into the car. She looks up to the sky, _it’s getting darker now. What can one do at night? Dinner. Movie. Night club. Dinner party. Party. All of those were really out of the question. What did she used to do when she was younger? When you never used to be able to afford any of that? Go for a walk. Not happening. Movies. Just been. Go for an ice-cream? He couldn’t eat it. An amusement park? Not happening. What did kids do now? She wishes Claire could give her some insight now. Think. Roller-skating? HA! Bowling? He couldn’t and the idea of her bowling was just hilarious! Avis Amberg in her sable, sunglasses on, cigarette hanging out her mouth trying to throw a 10-pound ball down a plank of wood. No thank you. Teenagers nowadays didn’t go anywhere. They just found a place to eat each other’s faces off and the everything it lead to. She supposed she used to do the same. Oh my god! I’ve got it!_

“Get in!”

She says excitedly as she swings her door open and gets in slamming the door shut. He follows, asking no questions. She puts the car in gear, and it squeaks all the way out of the lot, her waving to the front gate security as she flies by him.

“Where are we going?” He says laughing.

“You’ll see!” She is wagging her eyebrows at him, a mischievous grin on her face. They drive for maybe ten minutes, the altitude increasing as they go. Eventually they pull into a dark car park overlooking the whole city with a bunch of other cars aligned next to them facing the beautiful skyline of Hollywood. When the car is stationary, she looks out to the view of Los Angeles. 

He looks around at the other cars around him, laughing, “Avis, this isn’t…”

He looks now directly at her, who is staring back at him wagging her eyebrows, laughing.

“YUP!” She starts laughing heartily.

“Nooooo.” He is astonished at the suggestion, laughing with her, making her laugh even harder as she nods at him, holding her stomach.

“What even made you think of this?” He’s wiping tears away from his eyes, beginning to remove his suit jacket.

“Well I was thinking, what do kids nowadays do? All they want to do is kiss and rub up against each other, much like every generation before them, and them bam! I remembered that this one guy I went on one date with when I first got here took me to a movie and then suggested going for a drive. But it ended up here, and obviously, we are from New York so how the hell would we know what a make out point was. A make out point in New York is a back alley! So, I was oblivious thinking he was showing me a pretty view. Then he made his move, I was fine at first with the kissing and then he REALLY went for it and I slapped him and demanded he take me home.” She was chuckling again, he laughs also. “Surely you’ve been to one of these?” She asks him, wagging her eyebrows.

“Oh yeah. Not in New York, but here when I was much younger. Plenty of times! Just not this one,” he says looking around at this one. “This has a much better view.”

She looks around also, takes the view in, nodding, “it’s pretty.”

“So, what was your plan? To bring me up here and seduce me?” He says flirtatiously, moving closer to her, putting his arm across the back of the seat behind her.

“Like I even need to try and seduce you. I lift this skirt up 3 more inches and you would be begging to touch me,” she enticingly moves towards him until she is no longer behind the wheel and their thighs are touching.

“Is that right?” He breathes, moving in closer to her.

She nods slowly staring at his lips as she moves in closer meeting him halfway. She deepens the kiss rapidly, bringing her hand up to the back of his head to pull him in closer, as he wraps his arm behind her, around her shoulder, his other hand moving to her knee.

The kiss becomes quickly heated as they both become breathless, the occasional moan releasing from both of them. She turns onto her hip so that she can move her leg over his, as her arm tightens around his neck now pressing him closer to her mouth, allowing his hand on her knee to venture higher up her dress. He rests his hand when he reaches the top of her stocking at the garter, taking his time running his hand underneath the strap, stroking the bare skin of her thigh. **Holy shit, he loves the feeling of her stocking and straps of her garter belt. He thinks it’s the sexiest thing in the world.** He lets out a loud moan when he reaches this goal, his pants becoming progressively tighter.

After only a few minutes she feels herself becoming more heated and pushes herself up so that she can straddle his legs, still vigorously assaulting his mouth with her tongue, wrapping both arms around his neck as he pushes his other hand up her dress to run up the back of her other thigh, reaching the other garter strap. She can feel him begin to push his hands higher not long after so that they rest upon her hips, pulling her closer to him. She reacts eagerly pressed against his length. They both let out a mouth into each other’s mouths in response as she moves her pelvis eagerly against him. He pulls away from her mouth, trying to catch his breath. However, this won’t stop his soft kisses down her neck, resulting in a huge moan from her as she throws her head back in passion.

However, for a split second she opens her eyes realising they are in the open air, the top down completely, where any other car could look in at them. Her eyes close briefly until it really hits her, causing her eyes to snap open more urgently. Still pushing his head into her neck, breathing rapidly, she looks around them to ensure no one is watching. _I mean I’m here with my husband, worst photos have been taken of me by the media, but it wasn’t something they needed._

“Ace, baby. We need to stop,” she whispers breathily, trying to move her leg so she is no longer straddling him.

“No… no… I’m breathing fine,” he says running his hand back down the back of her thigh, until it reaches the back of her knee, pushing her leg back down so she remains in place.

She lets out a loud moan, pulling back, removing his mouth from her neck so she can kiss him hard again.

She begins to mumble into his mouth, her eyes still closed, “photographers… could be… anywhere… anyone… can see…”

“let them… look,” he reacts, running his hand back up from her knee to behind her thigh, gyrating his own hips against her now, moaning.

However, she pulls back from his mouth, breathing rapidly, looking at his face, covered in her lipstick, then into his beautiful blue eyes. He looks deep into her brown orbs, stunning though they are almost completely dilated. She rests her hands on his collar bones as he rubs circles over her thighs and then grabs her behind, pulling her closer to his crotch again.

“Can’t you feel how much I want you?”

Her eyes close again as she throws her head back. She quickly returns her eyes to his, whispering “yes,” as she leans in to kiss him hard, though pulling back again quickly.

“We just can’t do this where everyone can see us,” she says still attempting to catch her breath.

**Fucking cock-blocked again. He couldn’t believe this. He looks at the car next to him briefly, huffing. He couldn’t see anyone in that car. Maybe a leg against the window but…**

“I’ve got it,” he says excitedly, “move your leg off,” he says tapping the back of her thigh, encouraging her to sit back in her seat. She moves without question, _though she is disappointed at the loss of contact_. He shuffles to the door of the car, pressing his back against it, looking towards her.

“Ok, shuffle over here,” he says taking her hand and pulling her towards him, stopping her when she reaches the middle of the long seat, letting go of her hand. **Thank god for Cadillacs and their big seats**.

“Ok, lie down.”

She looks up at him shocked, “lie down?”

“Yeah,” he says looking down at the seating as if he is calculating the logistics of it.

“How the hell are we supposed to both lie down in a front seat, Ace.” He begins to shift up onto the seat with his knee, shuffling towards her, kneeling one knee on the seat before her. “…We won’t fit and…”

However, she is cut off by him kissing her so hard that she grabs at the back of his neck, so she doesn’t fall backwards. However, he is already deliberately pushing her back on the seat with the force of his kiss, holding onto the back of the seat until she lies down completely. He pulls back from her, kneeling on the seat still, when she is horizontal.

“Are you crazy?” She whispers vigorously.

He simply smiles down at her, laughing flirtatiously. She throws her head back onto the seat, looking at the sky as he puts his hand under the knee closest to him, encouraging her to lift it up onto the seat, until he manoeuvres it in front of him and around the other side of his hip. She moves her hands up to cover her eyes, whispering “oh my god,” as she shakes her head from side to side.

**In all his years he never thought he would see the sight of his wife sprawled out on the front seat of their car, waiting to be taken.**

He chuckles silently to himself as he moves over her, situating both his hands next to her waist, as he begins to lean down. He pushes his hands under shoulders, staying on his elbows so that he doesn’t put all his weight on her. She automatically puts her hands on his shoulders, chuckling to herself at the madness of what was happening. _In all her years she never thought she would see Ace trying to move his large frame to lie her down in the front seat of a car, just so he could steal a moment of passion outdoors._

Finally, when he is settled between her legs, body pressed together, she pulls her legs to wrap around his legs. His mouth level with hers, an inch apart, they smile at each other, looking into each other’s eyes.

She laughs heartily, causing her whole body to shake, not helping his raging hard on, “now what?” She asks still laughing. **She was at her most stunning when she was happy. She really was ravishing.**

He smiles back and kisses her gently. It’s not so urgent. This time it’s slow, passionate, and full of love. _Well that knocked the laughter right out of her_ , she thinks as she moans. _Whilst she loves the heat of lust, this, what he was doing, pouring love into a kiss, was everything._ She responds eagerly, as they kiss for such a long time, simply enjoying what they have been missing for so long. _She always loved kissing. Whilst sex was obviously connecting for both of them, you could have sex with anyone, and it be just be meaningless pleasure seeking. Kissing like this, however, for her, was an act of love._

She runs her hands over wherever she can reach as he steadies himself on his forearms under her.

She was first to make a bolder move after a long session of kissing. She runs her hand down his arm, as she begins to move her hips, grinding them against his, still not breaking the kiss and earning a deep moan from him.

She continues the movement of her hand, reaching down to reach for the buckle of his belt.

He pulls back from kissing her as he realises what she is doing, moving to her neck, moaning “Avis” into her jawline. She smiles widely, glad that her ministrations are welcome, but gasping quickly at the feeling of him on her pulse point. As she gets the buckle and clip to his pants undone, unzipping his zipper, she uses her other hand to direct him back up to her mouth. She begins another fierce kiss as she moves her hand into his pants and underwear to feel him. _It was as hard as she remembered. It shocked her that a man of his age could still be so thick and hard. I mean she saw what happened with Ernie as he got older. It wasn’t so easy to maintain that and look how often Ace had had this issue in the past week alone._

He lets out a huge moan into her mouth, his grip on her shoulders becoming stronger. She moans back into his mouth as he devours her, becoming more excited, as she begins moving her hand across his length, stroking a foot up the back of this calf. However, due to their distraction, they miss the footsteps approaching their car.

A huge light comes from Ace’s side of the car, a torch shining onto their heads. She doesn’t even really notice, his head blocking it until she hears a booming voice.

“All right, kids. That’s enough! Break it up!”

Her eyes open quickly, realising that someone is right next to their car watching them.

“Oh my god!” She shrieks, “Ace! Get up!” She removes her hand immediately from his pants, pushing at his shoulders, attempting to sit up, pushing him along the way. He is shocked at her immediate change of mind, until he sees a light coming from behind him when he opens his eyes. As he sits up, he looks around behind him to see a police officer still pointing a light in his eyes. He squints at the light, holding up his hand to protect his eyes, as Avis tries to extract her leg back from under him so she can sit up straight, trying to pull her dress down at the same time.

“Could you get that thing out of my face!” Ace shouts at the police officer, not taking his eyes away from him. **He was angry. They had just been getting somewhere and here was this guy messing it up.** _She was mortified, being caught like a teenager. But she had to admit, it was quite funny, and being caught at it in a car by the police was quite arousing._

At hearing Ace’s booming angry voice, the young police officer immediately removes the light from Ace’s face, looking down intimated, stammering his words out.

“Sorry, sir. We thought that you were young kids… you see so many kids come up here and…”

Ace interrupts him still roaring as Avis sits behind him trying to laugh, her lips inverted.

“Well as you can see, my wife and I are not a couple of kids so if you don’t mind!” He never takes his eyes off the police officer, who nods nervously at lingers for a moment until he says “yeah,” walking away to tap on the window of the car next to them.

He huffs loudly, finally turning back to Avis, shocked to see that she is bursting from the laugh she’s trying to hold in. She lets out a couple of blusters trying to hold it in.

“It’s not funny, Avis.” He says trying not laugh, hers being infectious. “We were right in the middle of it!” He says shaking his head smiling, throwing his arm over the back of the seat again, looking to the sky and giving a deep sigh.

She smiles, shuffling closer to him so she leans against his side, her face stretching up to his as he looks back down to her, their faces inches apart. 

He slips his arm around her shoulder, still sighing, as she trails her hand across his chest.

She gives him a peck on the lips, and still inches away whispers, “We never could have got anything done here anyway. How about we go home, and I can take care of you properly?”

She wags her eyebrows suggestively, smiling widely. He leans down and gives a deep kiss in response, pulling back breathless.

“Let’s go.”


	15. Taking Care of You

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well here I was thinking I wouldn't get this up until tomorrow but HWFG. 
> 
> Enjoy :)

“Let’s go,” he says as she smiles brightly and quickly shuffles behind the wheel, taking a deep breath before she turns the engine on. He begins to do up his pant fastenings, undoing his tie and top button, as she puts the car in gear to reverse out of the space. He looks into the side mirror seeing that he’s covered in lipstick, reaching into his pocket for a handkerchief to try and remove it. She steals a glance at him seeing what he is doing, laughing silently as she moves to turn up the volume on the car radio on the beginning of their drive home. Peggy Lee plays as Avis jollily sings along, still not noticing that Ace listens to her whilst taking in bright lights of LA as they make the journey.

It is not long until they are pulling up in front of the house. They silently exit the car, meeting at the foot of the stairs leading to the door. She smiles up at him as he allows her to ascend the stairs in front of him. **He wishes it were because he was being a gentleman, though he can’t apologise for wanting the view of her derriere as she sways in front of him.**

_They were being quite calm and tame considering where they were fifteen minutes ago. She wants a bit of it back._

Just as they reach the door, her reaching to open it, she pulls back and turns around to face him suddenly. She looks up at him through batted eyes, placing a hand on his chest.

“Well thank you for a wonderful evening and walking me to my door. You understand that I would love to invite you in for a drink, but my father wouldn’t like it,” she smiles at him, hoping he takes the hint to play along with her.

**What? Her father? Oh, they were playing. He could do that.**

“Oh, well Miss Ginsberg, I hope you will allow me to take you out again.”

She smiles up at him, “well I actually took you out, but yes I would love to,” she whispers, leans in closer to him seductively.

He brings his arm up to lean a hand above her shoulder, leaning closer so he can pin her between himself and the door.

“Well Miss Ginsberg, if you don’t mind me saying so I would really like to kiss you,” he breathes, millimetres away from her lips.

“Really?”

“Mhm,” he nods, making his move to kiss her lips briefly.

She pulls back slightly after a moment, suggesting “I was hoping we could go steady, Mr Amberg.” **He thinks for a moment.**

“Unfortunately, I have to decline,” he breathes. She grimaces, almost wounded in this facade. _Wow, this wasn’t a part of the fiction of this role-play._

“You see, I have a wife who I love and adore, so I can’t,” he pulls a sympathetic face for her.

Tears form in her eyes, though she blinks to stop them. _He had got her. She didn’t know when she would get used to hearing him say that so genuinely. It was still so new. She was still so shocked by it._

“I understand. I feel the same way about my husband,” she says matter of factly, her hands still on his chest.

He gives a small smile and a bow, turning to walk away down the steps to the car. _Wow, wait, where the hell was he going?_

She darts her hand out, grabbing his arm, turning him around urgently, throwing an arm around his neck and slamming her lips to his.

He laughs at her urgency against his lips, throwing his arms around her waist, pulling her closer, as he fully kisses her back.

When he pulls back for air, he leans down pressing his forehead to hers, closing his eyes.

“Do you really?” He hears her whisper shakily. His eyes fly open as he sees her eyes closed but tears gathering at the corners to run down her cheeks.

“Wholeheartedly. Please never doubt it,” he says smiling as he leans in to kiss her fully again. She grasps him tighter around the neck. **He can feel her desperation in the kiss. He feels guilty again. Of all the hurt he’s caused her. All the hurt she has pent up over the years. He must be the only person to see this side of Avis. The sensitive, hurt Avis. Whilst he was glad to see every side of her, he wishes he weren’t the cause of it. They had caused each other a lot of hurt of the years but he had started it back then. He would keep reassuring her until she had no doubt.**

He moves his kisses to her face towards her ear, kissing her pulse point as she gasps at the sensation. He ceases his kisses, hugging her tightly. She hangs onto his neck tightly, her eyes tight shut, breathing deeply.

_His declaration had caught her off guard, but she hadn’t expected to feel so vulnerable all of a sudden. She just wants it all to be real. It has felt like such a fantasy, like it could fall apart at any moment. I mean what if he went back to work on Monday and started to have his head turned again by younger girls? It had happened before; it could happen again. And what if this time he actually left her like Jeanne had said he was planning to do before? Yeah, he said he was leading Jeanne along but what if that was to make her feel better about it?_

“I love you, Ace,” she mumbles into his neck, “I love you so much.”

He thinks he’s going to choke by how tightly she’s grasping him. **What is going on? Why does she seem so upset?**

“I love you too, babe. More than you realise,” he hears her gasp, the air leaving her body when he says that. **Is she relieved? Doesn’t she know that? He had told her.**

He pulls back, prying her arms from around his neck, to look her in eye. She’s crying. He lifts a hand to her face, the other grasping her waist as she clutches his shoulder now, trying to look anywhere but his eyes.

“Don’t you know that?” _Not always. She has doubts._ She looks into his eyes pleadingly. She doesn’t want to have to answer it to him out loud. She looks away again.

**Her silence is golden.**

“I know I’ve hurt you. I know you’re wounded. Probably the biggest casualty of our bullshit, but I do Avis. So much it’s overwhelming. You might not believe it, but I’m going to keep telling you and showing you, until you have no doubt. You hear me?” He says forcing her to look into his eyes. **How could he convince her?**

She nods, tears still falling. _She doesn’t trust herself to speak. She can believe it for now. It’s the future that frightens her._

“Come on, I want to show you something,” he says removing his hand from her face, and moving the hand from around her waist to her hand. He moves to the door, pulling her along behind him. He moves directly to the drawing room, as he hears Gertie approach from the kitchen.

“No need to stop what you were doing Gertie! We are fine!” He shouts over his shoulder, still storming. Avis follows dutifully, being pulled hard, looking at Gertie with a shrug, who kindly closes the front door behind them before going back to the kitchen area.

When they enter the drawing room he walks over to the couch, stopping and gesturing for her to take a seat on the lavish sofa. She moves past him, sitting down as he towers above her. She looks up at him completely confused, as he simply says, “wait here”, and storms back out of the room. She watches as he leaves, his movements suggesting he is moving towards the office. She moves to open her purse, pulling out a handkerchief to wipe her wet cheeks and the remainder of the lipstick on her lips, she wipes a little at her nose to finish. She only hears Ace’s footsteps re-enter the room as she is looking down to put the handkerchief back into her purse. She sees his shadow moving over to the sofa facing her. When she looks up, she sees him place down a large, thin package, wrapped in brown paper and string.

_Another gift. Hopefully the last gift._

She looks up at him when he turns back towards her. He gestures the hand to the package, “It’s the last gift, arrived this morning.”

She sits still looking at the package. She lifts her hand now, pointing at him, being bolder, “you promise this is the last?”

He rolls his eyes, walking towards her, taking the hand pointing to him.

“Yes, now will you come and open it.”

She eyes him suspiciously, as she rises with his help. She lets go of his hand as she approaches the gift. She unties the loose bow on the string, causing the string to fall apart.

_It looks like a painting. Another Guaguin, perhaps? She never loved them, they were nice, but they were bought as an investment and they did have a collection gathering. Not that she wouldn’t be thankful of course. It was a lovely thought._

As she begins to rip open the paper, he stands behind her smiling.

**Jesus, he hopes she likes it.**

When the paper comes off, she realises that it is the back of the painting facing her. She looks at him, smirking, needing his help to turn it around.

**He has an idea.**

“Actually,” he says moving towards the painting, “turn around.”

She rolls her eyes, turning around. He moves over to the painting, removing the remainder of the packaging, throwing it to the side, and turns it around to face her perfectly. **It really was beautiful**.

He moves aside, stepping back smiling. She looks to her side, watching him smile brightly. _He clearly was excited about it, whatever it was. She was glad of that at least._

“All right,” he looks her in the eye, “turn around.”

She smiles and turns around to look at the painting. She lets out an audible shout as she covers her mouth quickly, and then her whole face with both of her palms. _She feels like all the air has been sucked out of her lungs. This had been the last thing she had been expecting._ He can hear her gasping through her hands, her body shaking from tears.

He moves towards her, intending on putting an arm around her shoulders, smiling. As soon as he touches her, she pries her hands from her face and pounces on him, dragging him down to her height, hugging him around the neck fiercely. He laughs at the quick impact of being pulled down to her, but he wraps his arms around her waist, moves his head to the side to kiss her neck once.

“You like it then?” He whispers into her ear. She nods fiercely into his neck, still not letting go, tears still not subsided. After a few minutes, her grip grows weaker and she lets go of him, pulling back to look at it again.

“ _A Jewish Wedding?_ Is it real?” She says extracting herself from him to walk over to it. She stops in front of it, taking in every inch.

“Of course, it’s real. It better fuckin’ be!” He says watching her analyse it.

She moves her hand towards it, wanting to ensure it’s real. She hesitates as her hand moves to touch it. However, she strokes her hand over one evident brush of paint sticking out and extracts it quickly as though her finger has been burned by it. She takes a deep breath, looking at the whole picture again.

“Just as I remembered it. Even more beautiful, perhaps.”

He smiles, watching her as she wipes at her wet face, tears no longer falling.

“How did you do it, Ace? How the hell did you do it?”

“Called some people in Paris. They had a connection in the museum. I phoned them up, made them an offer. Told them I had to have it and I would pay whatever they wanted. It’s not like it’s the Mona Lisa, they weren’t stringently unwilling to give it up for a small fortune. We settled on a sum that day, I got it on a flight from Paris. It came today. That’s why it took so long to get here though.”

She shook her head, never taking her eyes off the painting.

“How do you do it?” She looks towards him now. “How do you get these priceless things that no one else would ever be able to get?”

“Money?”

“No, if anyone else asked they would be told where to go.”

He smiles roguishly looking at her, shrugging his shoulders.

“You’re brilliant,” she says straight faced, looking him seriously in the eye. “There is no one else like you in the world.” She looks back to painting, shaking her head.

_She’s astounded. No one else would ever pull this off. It’s his charm, his authority, his intelligence, his wit that allows him to pull of things like this. And THIS. And the necklace. How does he even remember these things? They are so thoughtful. Nothing she would have expected. How could she doubt his love for her? Whilst the money is a factor, it’s the trouble he’s gone to, the effort, the thought that tugs at her heart. His face whilst he set the gift up for her. He wanted to see her happy. This wasn’t to keep her happy, it was to make her happy, and the difference was unreal._

“No, there is no one like you in the world,” he says putting his hands in his pockets, looking at her again.

She looked back at him, his flirtatious grin back. _She could literally feel herself swooning. She had to have him._

She quickly storms over to him, grabbing his face to slam a kiss onto it. He grabs her tightly, penetrating her mouth with his tongue immediately. She grasps at the back of his head, as he moves his hands to her waist, to her behind, squeezing her closer to him as he gives as good as he gets. They were moaning loudly into each other’s mouth, until she pulls back fiercely and says,

“fuck this, we’re going to bed.”

She pulls his hand, rushing past him to the staircase, tugging him along. He smiles, following her dutifully. **Like fuck was he going to say no to that.** He becomes breathless when they are half-way up the stairs, though. He tugs at her hand to get her attention. When she looks back down, she can see he’s breathless, smiling weakly, going slower now.

“Why don’t you go ahead, and I will get you up there?”

“Like hell,” she says walking back down the stair he is on, wrapping a hand under his back as he puts one around her shoulders, still clinging to the handrail. They move up slowly. _She needs to remember that as much as she wants him and even with them being given the green light to do a little, he still has just had a heart attack and couldn’t exert himself. She could play it slower. It was always a bigger build up anyway._

When they walk into the room, they have let one another go, him entering first so she can watch him.

“Why don’t we get changed into something more comfortable, hmm? Less restriction?” She says from behind him, closing the door behind her, and already walking over to his dresser to pick out a pair or pyjamas. He sits on the bed, taking a deep breath. **He was fine. He had just gone a little too quickly. He had to walk, not run.**

He was beginning to pull at the tie he had already undone in the car, throwing it onto the bed. By the time she approaches him, he has his braces off his shoulders, cufflinks removed, shoes kicked off, and a couple of his shirt buttons undone. She places the pyjamas on the bed next to him and walks in between his legs.

“Do you want some help?” she seductively swatting his hands to take over undoing his buttons.

He chuckles lowly, “I can undress now, you know.”

“I know,” she says continuing, “Maybe I just want a reason to be close.”

He brings his hands to her hips, “you don’t need a reason, babe.” He leans forwards as he says this and punctuates his sentence with a kiss on the underside of her jaw. Removing his hands and sitting back just as quickly.

She smiles at him hungrily, pulling his shirt open and pulling it up out of his pants. She continues to help him remove his shirt, also untucking his undershirt. However, he becomes more aroused when she moves her hands to his belt. She unbuckles his belt slowly as she had done previously in the car. She moves her face closer to his as she does this, pecking his lips, his chin, the underside of his jaw, his neck, as she unbuckles the belt fully, unclasps his pants, pulls the zip down, and ghosts her hand across his growing length.

Just then she whispers in his ear, “I will leave you to do the rest since you can undress yourself, and I will go and get myself comfortable as well.”

He groans audibly at her teasing, watching her pull back from his neck and his crotch, with a taunting smile.

“First though,” she says turning around, “could you unzip me?” She crouches down, leaning on the edge of the bed and his crotch as she wiggles, pretending to try and get a perch on the bed. _Let’s play._

His head falls back at the sensation of her moving against him again. **He can play this game as well.**

He trails his fingers slowly up the back of her arms, across her shoulders, teasing the sensitive skin there until he gets to the top of the zip. He slowly moves the zip down a few inches, stopping to move the fabric to the side to kiss the exposed skin at her shoulder, moving to the back of her neck and across to the other. Her eyes flutter closed, and she moans lowly, bringing her hands to his knees, squeezing them. He moves the zip down lower, agonizingly slowly, until it reaches its end, still kissing wildly at her shoulders. He then moves his hands around her waist to meet at her front, grasping her closely. As he continues his kisses to her neck, he moves his hands higher to her breasts, kneading them through her far too thick dress. She moans loudly, throwing her head back onto his shoulder as she begins rolling her hips against his crotch. _How had this backfired. She was supposed to be showing him the good time._

As hee continues kissing her neck, she uses all of her energy to extract herself away, standing, much to his dismay. _It would be worth it in the long run_.

She turns around to look at him, both of them breathing strongly.

“Thank you,” she says as she pushes the dress past her hips to fall to a pool on the floor at her feet. She stands captivatingly in a shift dress, her stockings, and heels. He can’t take his eyes off her. **Jesus Christ, look at her. She was going to drive him wild. It was taking everything not to plunge for her, pick her up, and slam her against that wardrobe to fuck her senseless. He couldn’t, yet… But my fucking god he would, the second he was allowed to.**

She smiled provocatively, taking the straps from her shoulders and pushing her shift down her body and past her hips also, revealing an ivory satin strapless corselette, attaching to her stockings.

 **His eyes roam from the garments on the floor, from her heels, to her stocking clad shapely legs, to the fuckin’ straps of her garter belt, from the crotch of the bralette, to her curvaceous hips, up her trim synched waist, to her full breasts, to her sexy curved lip smile, then he meets her dilated brown eyes and red hair.** He groans loudly and falls back onto the bed. She laughs loudly, watching him visibly swooning. He sits back up after a few seconds and looks at her, leaning a hand on his knee.

“Avis, go and get changed in the bathroom before I explode right here. I need to calm down if this is going to last at all.”

She smiles, “all right, darling.” She turns quickly to her dresser, rummaging for a nightgown. As she begins walking quickly to the bathroom, she turns to him with a crooked smile, “keep that pyjama shirt unbuttoned.”

She didn’t wait for his answer, moving through the bathroom door, closing it but keeping the door slightly ajar.

She goes into the bathroom, kicks off her heels, begins undoing the clips of her belt. _She knew she had a decent body for her age. She had made sure of that. She had never had anyone recoil from it, and she always looked to see if they did when she had her trysts. Not one time. But his reaction_. She grips onto the sink briefly. _What a turn on. She had never had the boys react to her like that. They had always seduced her. It was their job. She got what she paid for. Whilst there was always flirting and foreplay, she had never actively seduced them, especially in the way she just had with Ace. She didn’t think she could with them by just undressing. Hell, the trysts were transactional. If anyone was stripping, it was them. My god, she missed that. Just driving him crazy with a look, a touch, something nonsensical. That teasing when they thought no one was looking. The connection. She hadn’t had that since Ace. She couldn’t wait until he was fully allowed to make love because she was going to go into full force. She could have taken what just happened out there ten times further and would have if he hadn’t asked her to stop. She wanted it to last as well. She would need to tone it down a little._

She had rolled her stockings down her legs, unclipped and removed her bralette, and placed on a short satin strapped ivory nightgown in the time she had been thinking.

She looks at herself in the mirror. Her makeup was all right. No lipstick but what as the point in putting it back on now, would just create a mess. She runs her hands down her body, cups her breasts, moves across her stomach, down to the tops of her thighs, reviewing how she looks. She pats her hair quickly before she leaves the bedroom. There lies Ace back to his side of the bed, lying on his side, elbow supporting his head, half under the sheets in his pyjamas, shirt unbuttoned, patting her side of the bed, beckoning her. She laughs as she kneels up onto the bed, crawling towards him slowly, lying herself down next to him on her side, bringing the sheet up, her head resting against her hand as she reaches out her other hand to trail from his stomach, up his chest.

“Well,” she says eying him up, “on your back.”

He is taken aback. **That’s not what he was expecting.**

She sees his shock and laughs, “Saul says on your back.”

He rolls his eyes, moving onto his back, grumbling, head supported by the big satin pillow.

“Can we please not talk about, Saul? It’s having an opposite effect to what I’m trying to achieve here.”

She smiles down at him, sitting up, batting at the pillow for him as he settles and clasps his hands over his stomach.

She leans down over him, pressing her chest against half of his, bringing a leg up to caress his, she claps her hands on his shoulder nearest to her.

“I won’t,” she moves closer to his mouth. “Scouts honour,” she whispers as she kisses him. He moves up to meet her kiss, as he unclasps his hands, moving one underneath her to wrap around her back and then again to her neck. She pulls her hands apart to bring one up to his cheek to encourage his kiss.

He turns onto his side, moving his free arm to her thigh, running up the back of it to feel her supple skin. She is taken aback by him moving over onto her, pressing her closer. She pulls back from the kiss, pushing at his shoulders.

“On your back.”

He begins falling back, huffing.

“This just isn’t going to work then. How am I supposed to enjoy it if I can’t even touch you?” She can see how frustrated he is becoming. Watches as his facial expression furrows. _She has an idea._

Suddenly she sits up, throwing her leg over him so that she is straddling him. Her centre pressed to his crotch; she begins moving herself against him. Looks in his eyes as she takes his hands and moves them to her thighs, forcing his hands to run up them until they settle on her rhythmic hips. He smiles widely.

“Better?”

He nods, “even more so if I could reach your mouth.”

She smiles, leaning down slowly to his mouth, as she leans into him, he arches his hips up to meet hers. When she is a mere breath away, she whispers, “you just relax and let me take care of you, like you took care of me the other night.”

She kisses him softly, one hand settling on his face, one on his chest. He responds eagerly, moving his hand to trail up her leg towards her centre between them. She slowly moves her hand down his chest, his stomach, across his hip, until she feels his fingers beginning to rub at her nub. She gives a moan, pulling back slightly to whisper into his mouth.

“Don’t worry about me, baby. This is about you,” she says as she moves his hand to the side, back to her thigh. He pulls back from the kiss.

“No, we can do the same as the other night,” **he’s confused. Doesn’t she want to feel pleasure also?**

She smiles, her thumb stroking his face, “maybe later, for now I want to focus on you.”

She kisses again deeply, not allowing him an answer. He swallows the protest that is about to come as she presses her hand under his pyjama bottoms, pushing them down so she could grab his length, moving her hand up and down. _She remembers that Saul had said this wouldn’t last long so she tries to keep it rhythmic and basic._

She continues to kiss him until his breathing becomes more heated and his grip on her hips becomes tighter. She pulls back slightly so she can watch his face. _She was still afraid that too much exertion would cause another heart attack._ She watches as his head moves deeper into the pillow, his eyes tight shut.

“Oh, Avis, baby. That’s it.”

 _He was so hot when he was like this._ **This was fucking everything. He missed this. Oh my god did he miss this.**

“Yeah?”

His hands begin clutching at the back of her thighs, pulling her closer to him.

“Yeah, baby, yeah. Keep going. Oh god!”

He moves a hand from her thigh, running it up her side. She shivers at that, her eyes rolling before she closes them at the sensation. _She would love her release right now. But she couldn’t get caught up in that. She had to make sure that he was okay the first time._

“You want more, baby?” She says as she moves her head down to kiss under his jaw. **Jesus Christ, her husky voice was so hot. He wanted her, all over her.**

“Please Avis, please.”

She smiles, upping the tempo of her hand movements. _He was so hard. She enjoyed giving him this pleasure._ **He was so close, so close.**

He moves his roaming hand, up to her neck, encouraging her to come back to his mouth so he could kiss her. She responds eagerly, infiltrating his mouth with her tongue, giving it all she had. His hand moves back down, trailing from her back to her breast, caressing the curve at its side. She can feel him pushing his member up into her hand, matching her pace.

 **He can feel his release coming**.

“Oh my god, Avis. I love you, honey,” he moans into her mouth. He pulls back then, gasping, “I’m coming, yes, keep going.”

_She missed seeing this look. The one he pulls when he releases. It had been so many years since she sat astride him, watching him lose himself in passion. She would happily do it again, a thousand times over. She didn’t notice anything out of the ordinary thankfully. It seemed like the Ace she had remembered. His breathing was ragged of course, but that was the whole point._

“Come on, baby,” she says pressing her chest against his, running her free hand up his side, continuing her fast rhythm, watching his expression for any changes.

He finally comes, pushing into her hand with roar, holding her hips tightly, gyrating wildly into her hand. His head is thrown back as he releases, but quickly comes back down to capture her lips, one of his hands quickly coming up again to the back of her neck to hold her lips to his as he moaned. She responds eagerly to his kiss, still milking his hard member until he is completely spent, caressing the skin on his side with her other hand.

When she feels his chest become calmer and his member become softer, she extracts her hand from him, pulling back from his mouth. She rests her hands on his chest, her head on her hands, looking up at him. He is still panting a little, the newly fresh air however making it a little easier to catch his breath.

“You okay?”

He still slowly runs his hand lightly across her thigh, and across the bottom of her neck.

“Better than okay,” he whispers back, looking back down at her smiling, “thank you.”

She smiles brightly, “a pleasure.” She giggles as she sits up, swinging her leg over so she is next to him, shuffling off of the bed.

“Wait, where are you going?”

She stands at the side of the bed facing him now, looking down at her spoiled nightdress, smiling as she looks back up at him.

“To get YOU a wet cloth, and ME a new nightdress,” walking to the bathroom laughing.

**It was pretty great considering they hadn’t done a lot. She really was a master seductress. He was glad that he didn’t have issue with his breathing. He had been slightly afraid of that.**

He hears the water running for a few seconds and then she reappears, throwing the wet cloth to him. He catches it as she immediately turns back around to her dresser. As soon as she picks a new nightdress out, she walks over to the edge of the bottom of the bed and quickly whips off the one she is wearing, throwing it over the chaise lounge.

 **It was the first time he had seen her fully nude in several years. She was so comfortable in her own skin, in front of him again. She has aged beautifully. All the usual things he would expect of an older woman, yes, but still in great shape. He loved being able to admire and watch his wife as if she were a piece of art instead of just feeling arousal whenever he got a glimpse of anything. He loved how comfortable they both were when like this. This intimacy. This familiarity.** He watches as she throws her new clean nightdress on and makes her way back to him. He cleans himself up from the leftover mess and places the cloth onto the bedside table. She smiles approaching him, cuddling up into his side, placing her head on his chest, as he brings an arm around her. She places her hand on his chest, which he instantly takes, lacing his fingers with hers, bringing her hand up to kiss the large rings on her ring finger. She sighs deeply, and cuddles into him tighter as their laced hands drop back to his chest.

“You’re incredible,” he says rubbing his thumb across her hand, leaning to kiss the top of her head. She smiles and squeezes him, closing her eyes.

She is the first to break a few minutes of silence.

“What’s your plans for tomorrow?”

“Well Tom is coming in the morning, so we can start on swimming. Then I assumed you and I would do something?”

“Yeah, well I’m not at the studio tomorrow. I think I will go and do some shopping whilst Tom is here then, I have a few things I want to get. Then Dick is having a party tomorrow night which we have been invited to. I told him we probably wouldn’t make it, but if you feel up for it, maybe we could go after dinner for a few hours. It’s just sitting in a chair talking to people isn’t it and I can drive us there. Just gives you another opportunity to talk to some people who aren’t me.” She smiles up at him, then settles back down looking at their joined hands.

“That sounds fine. We can see how the swimming goes in the morning and see how I feel but I don’t imagine it will be an issue.”

There is another silence as he runs his hand up and down her back. He is the one to break it this time.

“So, when are you going to let me repay the favour?”

She smiles wider, looking up to him so she can look into his eyes.

“I’m quite happy lying here for the moment. And plus, I believe it was me repaying the favour. For the other night, when you did the same for me. For all the beautiful gifts you have given me,” she says as she reaches up to give him a peck on the lips, then settles back into his chest sighing.

“You don’t have anything to repay. I have years to make up for, babe,” he says running his hands up and down her back. They remain silent for a few minutes, whilst she simply relaxes. However, his thoughts go to what had been bothering her when they were on the doorstep. How she had reacted so emotionally to him telling her he loved her.

“You do know I love you, don’t you?”

She remains still, her eyes popping open. She burrows into his chest more if that is even possible.

“Yes, I know. As I do you.” She replies very timidly. Almost silently.

“Avis, tell me what’s bothering you. Tell me what you were thinking outside. You got so upset. Don’t you know I love you? What do I need to do to convince you? I know it will take time, but tell me what I can do?”

He is adamant, almost worried that his displays of affections, his gifts, his honesty, his declarations were not enough.

She moves their clasped hands towards her so she could kiss his hand.

_She demanded honesty and promised honesty in return._

“I don’t know, Ace,” she begins quietly, “I didn’t expect to have the reaction that I did to you saying you loved me so out of the blue. I suppose I’m just not used to it. I still feel like it’s not real, that we are living in this little fantasy, in this little bubble. I suppose I’m just waiting for the bubble to burst, for you to come to your senses.”

“Avis… it’s not going to change,” he starts but she interrupts him.

She sits up, still clasping his hand so that she can look at him directly. He moves the hand that was around her back to stroke at her arm.

“But what about when you’re back out in the world. When I’m not there with you every minute of every day. When you don’t have me to rely on. When another skirt walks by you in the studio. What happens then? Will your head be turned again? I believe you now, Ace. I truly do. You’ve had me running around after you, giving you gifts, conversing with you, looking after you, flirting with you, acting like a real wife. But I’m the only person here. There is no one else here to compete with here. What happens when I get competition again, Ace? I lost out to the competition when I was 10 years younger, why would it be any different now. And you did tell Jeanne that you were going to leave me, whether it was stringing her along or not. What if you meet someone you really do what to leave me for? And I’m not going to lie to you Ace, I don’t think I could take it again. Not after I’ve just got it all back. I can’t go back to that life. I love this one too much.” She has tears running down her cheeks, as she looks down at her lap, wiping away the tears.

He sits up facing her, moving the hand from her arm to her face. As he caresses it, she moves further into his touch.

“Avis, baby. Never… Never ever am I going to do that to you again. And I will never ever leave you, not unless I die anyway.”

She continues to look down as her eyes squeeze closed and tears pouring down her cheeks.

He moves his hand under her chin, moving it up to look into her eyes.

“I promise you, Avis. I didn’t even realise what was happening the last time it did. I was too fucking stupid to even consider what went on around me. I was too fucking obtuse to process my own insecurities and come to you about them. I know what my issues were now, you know what they are now. There is no need for me to make them better by getting mixed up with other women. You’ve taught me that. I didn’t even realise that we changed because of me and my behaviour. I had no idea what you were feeling. Look at us now. I’m so fulfilled with you. In every way. The communication. The honesty. The love and passion we have? You think I would ever give that up for a quick meaningless romp with another girl? Never baby, never again.”

She cries harder, leaning into him, throwing an arm around his neck and hugging him tightly.

“How do I know that though?” She says wailing into his shoulder. **He hated when she cried but they had to talk about this.**

“I don’t know how to convince you. You have no reason to trust me. But I suppose it’s the same trust I need to have that you aren’t going to jump back into Ernie, or Jack’s, or one of the other gigolo’s beds, whilst I’m cooped up in this house recovering or even when I’m back at the studio.”

She pulls back from him, wiping at her face, “I would never!”

He halts her, bringing a hand up to wipe at her tears also, “I know baby, just like I would never. We don’t need that shit anymore. We have each other. I can buy you all the most expensive gifts in the world and it still wouldn’t prove to you that I wouldn’t. It’s a good start to prove to you how much I care. However, it’s going to take time to have complete trust. We made our pact. No more secrets or lies, and that includes infidelity. No cheating. No other women. No gigolos. Only you and me. Because I love you,” he lifts his hand from her face, bringing a fist to batter his heart, “and you took and own my heart. I am absolutely yours.”

“As am I, yours,” she says as she leans in to kiss him squarely, bringing an arm up around his neck, pulling him closer.

He extracts his hand from hers, bringing it around her waist to push her back with the force of his kiss onto the pillows so he is leaning over her. **He was going to show her in all the ways he knew how. Since he couldn’t make love to her properly, this would have to do.** He continues his kissing her, keeping his weight off her with the support of one arm against the bed, as he moves a leg over hers, moving a hand to her knee so he can move up under her nightdress, caressing her thigh. He can feel the gooseflesh form as she shudders under his touch.

He moves his mouth from hers, as she gasps breathlessly, moving to her jawline.

“How could you think I would ever cheat again? I’m crazy about you. Every single part of you,” he continues kissing to punctuate his list as he moves his wandering hand further up towards her centre until he reaches his target, starting to massage her nub.

“Your lips, your neck,” she moans as he begins massaging the heart of her centre. “Your erotic moan, your husky voice,” he says as he comes back to her lips, pecking there, moving quickly to the other side of her neck.

He continues punctuating his list with kisses as she moans at his rhythmic movement on her core, her hips meeting his movements.

“Your lopsided smile, your beautiful brown eyes, your hearty laugh, your legs, your teasing, your dominant persona, your caring personality, your secret vulnerability, your fun nature, your cuteness, your singing voice, your expressive faces, how you make me laugh, how you fit so perfectly in the crux of my neck,” he pulls back now, moving to hover over her lips, as they look into each other’s eyes. She is extremely worked up, his hand never ceasing their service.

“How happy you make me. How lucky I am that you are with me, giving me a second chance. How lucky I am that you love me now and did in the first place. How am yours completely, and you are mine.”

Her eyes are full of tears, running down to the pillow as she smiles widely and tightens her arms around his neck to kiss him intensely. He returns with vigour, upping the speed of his attention to her clitoris. She moans deeply into his mouth, gyrating her hips against his hand harder. He moves his hand away from her nub, to her opening, moving the juices there around her whole centre, as he moves back up to her nub.

“Ace, baby. I love you. I love you so much,” she moans into his mouth. “I’m going to come.”

“I love and adore you, baby. Come for me.” He moves his fingers into her, pumping within her now, his thumb continuing its pace on her nub.

She pulls away, throwing her head back, her chest heaving.

“Yes, Ace. Oh my god,” she feels her muscles clenching, kissing him passionately again. As he speeds up his tempo to the highest degree, he feels her push over the edge, her opening seizing within, juices flowing, her moans into his mouth become loud screams, as her nails dig into the back of his back, scratching down his back. He thinks that she scratches so hard that she could easily rip through his pyjama top. He continues at her centre until he feels her screams dissipate and her pulsating cease. She pulls back from his mouth, breath hurried, staring directly into his eyes. He stares back into hers, pulling the hand that had just been inside her up to his mouth, sucking her juices off of his fingers eagerly. Her pupils dilate then, as she pulls him back in for another hungry kiss.

She eventually lets him go, exhausted. He moves onto his back, pulling her with him so she can cuddle into him.

She nestles into his chest as they both relax, drifting off to sleep, until he speaks.

“Believe me yet?”

“Beginning to.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not real good at writing intimacy scenes so be kind in your thoughts and judgements :)))


	16. Swimming

When she wakes the next morning, she can feel him behind her curling around her body. The light is peering through the curtains as she feels his arm weighing on her waist, his fingers stroking her stomach, his breath evenly caressing her neck. She smiles, moving her hand that had been resting on the bed up to touch his, lacing her fingers through his.

_When was the last time she had woken this way?_

_She could remember one time, perhaps it was last year. She had woken to him wrapped around her. He had obviously moved in his sleep and embraced her. There was no way he would have done it deliberately. She had almost forgotten that 10 years had passed since that would have been normal. Then when she was fully coherent, she had panicked, had been so conflicted, had warred with whether to stay a moment longer. She had missed the feeling. Waking in the arms of her husband. It was once her normal waking position before everything had gone to shit._

_However, she didn’t want the awkwardness of him waking, realising what he had done. She didn’t want to stay in his arms, or she would have to ruminate how much she had missed it. If she thought about it for too long, she knew she would get emotional and that simply was not something she was willing to do. So, she had immediately extracted his hand from her, moved from the bed, and had gone directly into the bathroom, locking the door behind her. She remembered having to take a moment. Grasping onto the sink, looking down at it, and then back up in the mirror to face herself. She remembered her expression deceiving her. She had looked into the eyes of a hurt woman. She remembered her furrowed eyebrows, her hunched back. Her eyes had begun to fill. She didn’t allow the tears to fall. She had become an expert at preventing that. She had pulled herself up to her full height, wiped away her tears, and collected her toothbrush to begin the day – banishing the thoughts, the feelings, the imprint of his touch, the memories from her mind immediately. Hadn’t even thought about it again until this moment._

_But this… this was so different. She felt so happy. She didn’t have to run away from the feeling. Didn’t have to sneak into her bathroom. Didn’t have to look at the sad, lonely woman in the mirror. She instead could lean into his touch. She had the memories from last night. They had been able to make love… kind of. The closest they were going to get to that at the moment anyway. The ability to give each other pleasure whilst expressing their love for each other. She never thought this would happen again. Never. She had so many doubts over the past few days which all came to light last night. So many doubts in believing it was all real. The uncertainty it would last. And he had been so gentle with her. She had forgotten he could be this way. She knew it would take a while to get used to, but for now… She was elated._

She feels him immediately squeeze the fingers she had laced through his and place a gentle kiss on her shoulder. It made her smile even brighter, turning around to him, onto her back, placing their laced hands onto her stomach, bringing her other hand up to grasp on top of his. She looks around to him and sees him sleepily smiling at her, placing his chin onto her shoulder.

“Good morning,” she growls smiling.

“Good morning,” he reaches up to give her a peck on the lips and then leans his head onto her chest, letting go of her hand, wrapping his arm around her waist and cuddling into her bosom, closing his eyes again. She allows him to settle into her chest, bringing one hand up around his back to his shoulder blade, stroking it. She wraps her other arm around his neck, scratches the nails through the hair above his ear, leaning to kiss the top of his head and then leaning back into the pillow closing her eyes again.

**_Contented. Let this go on forever._ **

She is the first to break the silence.

“How long have you been up?”

He is stroking at her waist with a single finger, still not opening his eyes, “flitting in and out for maybe a half hour.”

She hums, ceasing the movements of her fingers on his shoulder blade.

“What time is it?” He mumbles into her chest.

She ceases the movements of her hand at his ear to check her watch, dropping it back to its duty immediately.

“7.55.”

He growls into her chest, the vibrations moving throughout her body. He moves his head to the side, away from her chest so she can hear him more clearly.

“I need to get up, Tom will be here in 35 minutes. Still need to take a shower.”

However, he settles back into her chest and hugs tighter, no signal that he is going anywhere anytime soon.

She resumes the stroking of his shoulder blade, humming again.

**I want to stay right here for the whole day.**

He growls again, moving to get up off for her. She loosens her grip on him, simply watching.

He is hovering over her, his arms holding him up. However, when he looks down at her lying silently watching him, he has a change of heart. **She’s so beautiful.**

He smiles at her and settles back down, this time moving his head into her neck. He embraces her again, settling his arms underneath her shoulders, and takes a huge deep breath of her scent. She laughs a little, accepting him into her embrace, wrapping both arms around his shoulders, closing her eyes and sighing contentedly. She moves to scratch at the back of his neck now, prompting him to begin pecking her neck. She laughs again, leaning into his kisses. _She is so happy._ She moves her legs to wrap around the back of his calves.

_She just loves being surrounded by him. Feeling him all over her. His weight, his touches, his kisses. When it is like this, she could die happy. When it is not sexual at all, just pure intimacy. This is love. This is exactly what she had been missing for so many years. It was like they were in their honeymoon period again. When you just didn’t want to let go of each other. It was magnificent._

**He didn’t want to let her go yet. He wasn’t ready to. Why did this feel so different with her? Why did it feel so different when there was love? He could feel his chest bursting with it. When he was in moments like these, when it was just them, with just affection, familiarity, understanding, it was home. He hadn’t had this feeling of complete devotion for so long. It really made him feel young again. Who knew that all of those years of chasing the feeling of youth was right here at home, in his own bed, with his own wife? He really had been such an idiot.**

He ceases his kisses, nuzzles in, her head leaning onto his. After sitting like this for a period of time, she looks at her watch again.

“Ace, it’s 8.10 now. You really should get up and get ready.”

He moans into her neck, unmoving.

“Let him wait,” he mumbles.

She smiles again, taps at his shoulders, trying to rise a little to encourage him.

“Come on, darling. We need to get up.”

He moves from her neck, comes eye to eye with her. She raises an eyebrow challenging him, with a lopsided smile, leaning on her elbows behind her now. He moves his forehead to hers, his hands supporting him on the bed, he closes his eyes and gives a deep sigh, as does she.

**Is this being tired or just content?**

_Is this real or am I about to wake up?_

He opens his eyes and sees hers are still closed; he takes his opportunity to kiss her gently. She receives happily, as he presses a little harder, pouring all his love into the kiss. She can feel herself moving back onto the pillow again as he follows her, never breaking the kiss. After a long loving kiss, he pulls back smiling.

“You going to join me in the shower?”

He gives her a cheeky smile, waggling his eyebrows at her when she opens hers to look at him. She laughs heartily.

“I think if we do that, Tom will end up waiting downstairs for hours, so I think you should take his one solo,” she moves her hand down his side as she says this and smacks his ass at the end for good measure to punctuate her sentence and encourage him off of her. He gives a little gasp in surprise, then moves it to a wolfish grin, kissing her lips quickly again.

“Being kinky isn’t the way to go about trying to get me to keep my hands off of you.”

She laughs again and pecks his lips.

She looks him in the eye and puts on a stronger tone, “get.up.and.shower.”

He groans and finally moves off her and makes his way to the bathroom as she lies there.

“Don’t forget,” she addresses him before he crosses the threshold, “I’m going out today. I’m going to call Francesco and see if he can fit me into the salon today. If we are going to that party tonight, then I need to look presentable.”

“All right, babe,” he says before entering the bathroom and closing the door.

_Babe. It still does something to her._

****

They see each other briefly in passing as she enters the bathroom and he leaves it. Francesco is able to fit her in if she arrives in the next hour. She also plans to get her nails done. It looks like it’s going to be an all-day event it seems. She gives him a fleeting kiss before she leaves, shouting over her shoulder that she would be gone for most of the day.

The day passes quickly for both of them. Ace does twenty laps of the pool before he enters it **. The feeling of being weightless in the pool was amazing.** **He had been feeling so sluggish at the start of the week. Whilst the exercising had helped, floating in the pool was the ultimate relaxing feeling… that was of course until Tom started getting him to do exercises in the pool… and then laps. He had even enjoyed that if he were being honest.** However, after hours at it, with more breathing exercises, when Tom announces he is leaving at 2pm he isn’t complaining. He takes a seat on a lounger with a nice cola and relaxes.

Avis on the other hand has a rambunctious day. She rushes to the salon where Francesco is waiting for her. She spends hours in the chair as Francesco fusses over her hair, however, she is luckily seated next to Betty Grable through most of it. _That had been interesting_. She had been filled in on the gossip from what had been happening at 20th Century Fox. After the release of ‘The Beautiful Blonde from Bashful Bend’, which she had heard was apparently such a piece of garbage movie that she didn’t even bother going to see it, Betty was losing confidence in the parts Fox were giving her. She had slipped from the 2nd to the 7th Top Ten Money Making Stars Poll, which had apparently concerned them. She had told Avis that she the studio were losing confidence in the money she was going to be able to continue bringing in. However, she argued that if she had been given a damn script that was good enough, she would still be bringing that money in.

On this news, Avis had swooped in. Questioning her contract. Trying to poach her. _She knew what she was doing._ She told Betty about her interest in making movies for women about women. Avis had told her about the upcoming project with Jeanne and how this was the studios new mantra. She had told her about how they had planned on turning the studio around and making the movies that no one else was making. This had interested Betty, _and she knew it. If she could get Betty on board it, they could make millions. So typical of a studio to start dropping an actress for any reason they wanted, age, a dud movie, a slight drop in popularity. She was still in 7 th place! She had only declined because she was being given stupid parts. Nah, she knew that she could find good parts for Betty at the studio._ She had given Betty her number when Francesco had finished with her, told her to get her agent to call her people so they could set up a meeting, find out where she was with her contract with Fox.

 _Who said a woman couldn’t do this job?_ _She had just potentially bagged one of the biggest movie stars in Hollywood whilst getting her hair done… which was looking fabulous if she did say so herself._

She had looked at her watch, it was only 1pm. Plenty of time to get her nails done. She had been home by 3pm, her nails completed with her favourite colour… bright red.

When she walks in the door, Gertie takes her coat as usual. She goes directly outside to the pool to see if Ace is still out there, placing her purse and gloves on the dining room table as she passes it. _It was a sweltering day._ She goes out the back, sunglasses protecting her from the sun’s brightness immediately. She sees him on the sun lounger by the pool, relaxing in his tight high-waisted swim shorts. She smiles, sticking her tongue into the inside of her cheek as she approaches. When she is near the lounger, she brings her fingers up to her mouth and gives him a loud wolf whistle.

He turns around startled at her presence. He hadn’t heard her approach.

He looks up at her through his sunglasses, “oh you’re back earlier than I thought. You look great!”

She smiles walking around to his sun lounger, taking a seat on the end of his lounger next to his legs, facing him.

“Thank you. You’re looking pretty great yourself. You’re literally glistening,” she gives a knowing smile, licking her tongue against her teeth as she looks him up and down, running a hand from his knee to mid-thigh and back down.

 **He knows he doesn’t. She is just being kind. She is good at pretending though**.

He brings his arms up, crossing them across his stomach as he forces a smile at her.

“How was your day?” **He wants to change the subject. Is feeling a bit exposed out here.**

_She can see how awkward he is. Sees him crossing his arms across himself as if trying to hide his form. Why can’t he see that she doesn’t care about that?_

“It was good,” she continues standing up slightly to shimmy herself up so that she is sitting next to his waist now. She runs her hand across his crossed arms, still being flirtatious. _She wants him to know that she finds him attractive._

She moves his upper arm, forcing them to split apart as she leans her side onto his stomach, lying across him. She runs her hand across his bare chest, ghosting his skin, looking at him through her eyelashes, as his hands falls onto the thigh of her crossed leg next to him.

“I got my hair and nails done,” she says softly, still stroking at his chest.

He looks down to her painted nails stroking at his chest, picks her hand up, reflecting on the rings he had gifted her 22 years ago at their nuptials, and pulls it up to his lips so he can graze her knuckle.

“Beautiful,” he says staring heatedly into her eyes. She smiles at him again. _He was lucky, or rather unlucky, that they hadn’t been given the green light because that look in his eye made her want to straddle him and take him here._

“And what about you? How was your swimming?” She goes back to stroking his chest.

“It was good. Was doing some exercises and laps. The exercise is definitely helping. I could float in there all day. I was planning on going back in. Why don’t you go and get your costume and join me?”

She jumps up now into a sitting position.

“Ace, I just got my hair done. There is no way in hell I’m ruining it by jumping into a pool.” She is looking at him as if he were crazy.

He laughs, grasping her hand again, “who says you need to jump in? Sit by the pool and dip your legs in. Get some sun about you.” He strokes the hand still on her thigh. “Give me a show.” He winks at her.

She narrows her eyes at him.

“Come on, I dare you,” he raises his eyebrows at her, challenging her.

_If this is what it will take for him not to feel to distract him from being self-conscious then fine. She will do it. But she’s not going in that pool. And he was right. It would be nice to relax and get some sun before she had to start getting ready tonight. It was her day off. She should be relaxing. Plus, Avis Amberg does not back down from a challenge._

“All right,” she says uncrossing her legs and standing. She smooths her dress down when she is up, “I’ll be right back.”

Whilst she is away getting changed, he takes the liberty of going to find Gertie so that he can get some towels, another Cola, and get her to prepare a drink for Avis. He saunters back outside and moves directly into the pool to wait for her. He swims one lap, at the end of which Gertie comes out and places the two drinks on the table next to the loungers. He thanks her and then begins floating, simply looking up at the sky. He is only stops floating on the surface when he hears her voice.

“Enjoying yourself?”

 **She is a vision.** She is standing looking down at him, hands on her curvaceous hips which are being hugged by an emerald halter necked bathing suit. It encases her stunning shapely body perfectly, matches her radiant hair completely. Her beautiful shoulders and legs are fully displayed as she stands there like a dream in her bare feet. She is a sight for sore eyes as she stands like a goddess in her sunglasses, with a smirk across her bright red lips.

“Much more now, you look stunning” he smiles at her.

She smiles and poses, bringing a hand from her hip up to the back of her head dramatically, raising a laugh from him.

“I got Gertie to make you a drink.”

She turns back around to look at the table he’s gesturing to with his head.

“My hero,” she says as she sits on the lounger, picking up her drink and sipping it.

He swims up to the edge of the pool and leans his arms on the edge, looking over at her.

“Aren’t you coming over?”

She gulps down the sip she has just taken of her drink, looking over to him as she leans back on the lounger.

“Can’t I take a moment to enjoy the view with a drink?”

She brings the drink back up to her lips as she wiggles her eyebrows at him, taking another sip.

He smiles and pushes away from the side and stars swimming around the pool again.

She puts the drink down and closes her eyes, looking up to the sunshine, drinking it in. She doesn’t open for another ten minutes, only hears him splashing around a little in that time. She opens her eyes again to reach for her drink. However, as she is reaching for her drink, she sees him floating on the surface again – looking up to the sky. _He looks like a child. It must feel so alive again._

She reaches over to take another sip of her drink, seeing his Cola sitting there.

“Darling, would you like a drink?”

She sees him look over to her.

“Yeah, please,” he starts swimming towards the edge of the pool, as she stands holding the cola.

When she reaches him, she bends down to hand him it. As he takes a drink, she stands back up, placing her hands on her hips looking up to the sky. _It really is beautiful out here and the sun is so strong she can feel her body temperature increasing._

She takes a deep breath and looks down at him. He places the Cola on the patio next to the pool and pats at the tiles on the side of the pool.

“Come and sit here. Keep me company.”

She smiles down at him, raising her eyebrows.

“Come on, you must be boiling my now, the water is nice and cool,” he pushes off a little, giving her some room to sit where he had just been leaning.

“Okay, but no funny business,” she says pointing to him laughing, before she sits where he had been pointing. “You get one spot of water on this hair and I swear, Ace.”

He lifts his hands into the air, pulling a face.

“I would never.”

 _She has to admit that the water on her legs has a miraculously cooling effect._ She kicks her legs a little smiling, as he begins swimming away from her around the pool.

**He wonders how he’s going to get her in here. He doesn’t even know why he wants her in the pool. Probably because she doesn’t want to come in. It’s a good challenge. But he needs to start small and work his way to it.**

He continues swimming in his circle, passes her by as she looks at him sceptically, still kicking her legs. _He’s up to something. He’s swimming like a shark waiting to pounce. She is going to get to it first though. He’s not going to pull one over on her._

He swims slowlyin a circle again, but this time as he approaches her, she kicks her leg up and splashes him with water. He is shocked, his head dipping under the water unexpectedly as he loses his flow. She starts laughing wildly, holding her stomach. When he reappears from under the surface, he is spluttering. He starts swimming determinedly towards her.

She screams and starts trying to extract her legs from the water to get away, “Ace! You said you wouldn’t! My hair!”

However, her protests do not stop his advance, grabbing her leg before she could get up from her seated position. He uses her leg to pull himself to her quicker. She is laughing as she screams, “no Ace! No!”

He brings his hands up her legs to her waist and begins tickling at her sides. She laughs rambunctiously, grabbing at his hands to stop his tickling. Eventually she is able to get his hands to stop, clasping them in hers and pinning them between her hands and her lap. She is still laughing, looking down at him, as he laughs back up at her.

“That’s what you get for splashing me,” he says trying to release his hands feebly from hers.

She keeps laughing, attempting to lean down to his face.

“I promise I won’t do it again,” still holding onto his hands on her lap.

Just as she is about to lock lips with his, he pulls back slightly and narrows his eyes, humming at her.

“Hmmm… How can I trust you?”

She leans forward, coming in closer to him again.

“How can I convince you?”

She leans in to begin a deep kiss, however, he pulls back almost immediately, back-stroking away from her.

“Get in…”

He is smiling widely, floating in the middle of the pool, as she shakes her head smiling at him.

“Ace… I told you I’m not getting my hair wet,” she is laughing now.

He shrugs now, “who says your hair needs to get wet. You’re at the shallow end. It’s 4 feet. Your hair will be fine.”

She shakes her head at him, “no way.”

“Come on,” he says swimming towards her again.

“It’s easy for you to say! You’re 6 foot, one tall! I’m Five foot, two, Ace! You’re literally a whole head above me.”

He reaches her, still smiling, running his hands up her legs.

“I will even hold you up, if your hair is in danger!” He leans down and kisses at her knees. One peck, two, a third. She brings her hand up to the back of his neck, smiling as he kisses her thighs now.

She hums at him, narrowing her eyes when he looks back up at her.

“Come on,” he takes her hand at his neck, and pulls at it as he moves back further into the pool.

“Okay, okay, but I swear Ace. We were joking around before, but no funny business. If my hair gets wet, I swear!”

“I promise,” he says moving closer again to help her off the ledge into the water.

When she finally plunges in gently, she finds that her hair is just shy of the water when she taps the back of her neck.

“No, uh-uh, get me out of here. It’s too close for comfort,” she says turning back around to the ledge again, clinging it so she can float higher from the water level.

He rolls his eyes and moves towards her.

“C’mere,’ he moves his hands to her waist, stopping her from turning away from him and then dips under the water. She recoils at the backsplash it gives and tries to look under to see what he’s doing but instead she feels his hands moving to the back of her thighs. She shrieks at being swooped up, grabbing under the water for his shoulders as he re-emerges. She can feel him moving his hands to clasp underneath her backside, causing her to instinctively wrap her legs around his waist. Once he is no longer spluttering, he is grinning, inches away from her face.

“Really Ace? You could have given me some warning.”

He has started walking around with her in the shallow area so that the water is far away from her hair.

“Where’s the fun in that?”

She shakes her head, readjusting her arms around his neck so that they are clasping.

“I really don’t think you should be carrying me around, just after you’ve had a heart attack. Swimming pool or not,” she is caressing the back of his neck as she says it. _As much as she likes the feeling of being carried by him and being wrapped around him, she doesn’t want to risk his health._

“You’re literally weightless,” he laughs, staring into her eyes.

 _She can feel that heat between them again. How was this happening so often? She never remembered it happening like this apart from when they were first married. Of course, she had always been very sexually charged but she never thought it would be this consistent with him_.

“Now what?” She whispers breathily to him, bringing hers lips just short of his.

He moves his hands in response so that he can slip his fingers below the hem of her bathing suit at her backside, feeling the soft flesh there.

“I have a couple of ideas,” he says as he backs her towards the poolside wall, leaning in to kiss her, not ceasing his steps.

She closes her eyes, getting lost in the kiss as his tongue finds his way into her mouth. He moans into her mouth, loudly as she responds eagarly. She doesn’t realise what he’s doing until her back hits the wall. However, she isn’t going to complain. She’s glad to have something to push up against so that she can feel his body harder against her. She can feel her heart pounding in her chest, and her centre beginning to pulsate. He can feel himself growing harder as he pressed up against her. She can feel his fingers still exploring her backside, as hers explored everywhere from his shoulders, his neck, to the back of his head as it intensified.

Eventually when she pulls back for air, it takes her a moment to gain back her breath.

“Well that was definitely… something…” She is laughing as she says it, still spluttering, as she tries to allow her senses to go back to normal. 

He is not laughing though, he’s looking at her lustfully, deciding to move to her neck. Her pulse point beckoning.

She moans audibly as he reaches the spot, her arms tightening around his neck, her legs around his waist. The whole feeling makes her shudder.

“Was this your plan all along?” She is finally able to get out as he continues his tactical assault on her neck.

“No,” he says moaning into her neck, his tone still completely serious. “As usual, you inspired it.”

She throws her head back at that, even more turned on if it were possible. _She had not expected that response. She had expected a quip, not the raw truth. Was there anything better than being desired without having to ask for it. Especially when that someone was completely yours. Your husband. It had been such a long time since she had been so proud to call him her husband._

She pulls his head back away from her neck then. _She needs to have him._ She looks him in the eye, curling her lip with lust, and brings him back to her lips. Invading his mouth so fiercely that he almost forgets he’s holding her up. He moves to wrap his arms around her waist, but when she starts to slip down, he quickly moves back under her, heisting her up.

She half laughs, half growls, “ohh… you’re lucky.”

He smiles as he goes back to her mouth, pressing her against the wall again as they both frantically kiss each other. **He can feel himself growing desperate.** Squeezing at her behind, slipping a hand a little behind her upper thigh, unable to roam as much as he would like to. She, however, is hectic in her scratching of his back and neck, rubbing her centre against the hard length she can feel against her. As he moans into her mouth, she pulls away, biting at his lip, causing him to moan louder. She looks into his eye lustfully.

_Where they going to do this here?_

**Where they going to do this here?**

He moves his lips to her left collar bone, grazing his teeth across it. She moans at the sensation, throwing her head back again. She can feel him heist her up higher again, against the harsh wall of the pool, so that he could move his bites, licks, and kisses down to the swell of her breast.

**Well if he couldn’t caress her, he had to get creative.**

_God, she wanted him._

He moves back up to her neck until he is back at her lips. They are both breathing so raggedly from arousal that they are only able to peck their lips against the other every so often, still instinctively moving their hips against each other.

“Do you really want to do this here?”

She nods her head slowly still breathing, kissing him briefly again.

He looks up over her head towards the house he is facing.

**They were under cover by the pool wall. No one would see anything even if they did come out. They were practically hidden apart from the top of their heads.**

“Is the coast clear?” She asks watching his face as he looks over her head.

“Yeah…”

He looks back down to her eyes, drinking her in.

“Good,” she says kissing him desperately again as both of their grips tighten. She pulls away only to give instruction. _Who else was going to give instruction?_

“Don’t let go, okay?” Whispering into his mouth between kisses, as she removes one hand away from his shoulders to run down his chest south, directly to his length. He groans at the sensation, as she breaths heavily, only looking at the movements of his face, pushing past the band of his shorts and grasps his member. She watches as his eyes flutter closed, the grip on her bottom tightening as he pulls her harder to him. _It’s such a turn on,_ she is simply gasping at the intensity.

She tries to make quick work of it. No drawing it out, considering their location. Gertie could come out at any moment. She moves her hand up and down his length quickly, earning strangled moans from him, as he buries his head in her neck. He responds eagerly, slamming his hips into her hand, jerking her whole body against the wall.

“Oh, baby,” is all he can choke out.

_She tries to remember what he used to like when they would have sex before. What turned him on? Oh!_

“You’re so big, baby. I can’t wait until you’re fully inside me. Until you can fill me fully like you used to.” He moans louder in response to that, biting at her neck, sucking at it next, his hips thrusting, matching the quickening rhythm of her hand jerking against his length. _And then she remembers what he loves more than anything._

“I can’t wait until I can wrap my mouth around you, taking you fully. Maybe we can do that later.”

With that he releases growling, pulling back from her neck to slam his lips onto hers, invading her mouth with his tongue as he leaks out every last drop.

However, when the convulsions stop, he doesn’t cease his kisses.

He becomes more desperate. He pulls back slightly and against her mouth speaks.

“Grasp onto the back of my neck tightly and tighten the grip of your legs, okay?”

_Her turn. She was so turned on; it wouldn’t take much._

“Yeah,” she huskily whispers back to him, moving her hand out of his shorts and back up to his neck, clasping them tightly. He removes one hand from behind her, pushing her up against the wall tighter as he continued to kiss her though more gently now. He burrows his hands between their tightly squeezed together bodies, moving the crotch of her bathing suit easily to the side. When he reaches her nub, she breaks the kiss, her eyes rolling into the back of her head as her head lolls back. He watches her, breathing heavily, his body still tingling from his own climax.

She has already been severely built up and he can feel the thick juices around her centre as he rotates two fingers against her. She is breathless, pushing herself harder into him, riding against his hips as her thighs cling tightly around him. She can feel that she is close already.

“Ace! Mmm, just like that,” she growls quietly as she becomes more frantic in her movements, his movements speeding up, harder now.

He watches her in awe, “You’re so beautiful. I wish I was inside you.”

She opens her eyes, looking into his lustfully, still moving against his fingers, “me too, baby, me too.” She kisses him fiercely again, he responds eagerly.

Just as she feels she is about to go over the edge, she hears Gerties voice behind her.

“Mrs Amberg, Mr Samuels is on the phone for you.”

She pulls back from Ace’s mouth, looking into his eyes, however, his fingers don’t stop their movements. Her pupils dilate at how dangerous this is, she doesn’t stop moving against him. She is breathing heavily as he presses closer to her, moving down to kiss at her neck instead. Her eyes roll back again. She lifts her hand above her head, swatting at the air above her, gesturing to Gertie.

“I’ll call him back, Gertie!” It comes out as a strangled cry but it’s all she can manage.

“Very good, Mrs Amberg.”

She moves her hand in the air to grasp at the pool edge behind her head and uses her other to pull his head back up to her mouth, tumbling over the edge, moaning into his mouth so Gertie doesn’t hear her.

 _Who knew she was an exhibitionist?_ _Well they did nearly have sex in the car the other night also._

She continues kissing him until the pulsing had completely subsided. Once it had, he moves his hand away from her centre and back to the underside of her thigh. She is heavy breathing still, pushing her forehead against his, slacking her grip of her thighs, and allowing her grip around his neck to drop to his shoulders.

He is the first to draw back, when he does, she opens his eyes and sees the huge grin on his lip stick covered mouth. She chuckles slightly at that.

“I can’t believe I made you orgasm in front of Gertie,” he’s laughing heartily as she swots his shoulder, leaning her elbow on it and bring a hand up to cover her eyes.

“Jesus Christ. Do you think she heard?”

He watches her embarrassment and whilst it would be easy to tease her, he opts for the truth.

“Nah, she was probably more or less in the house, and you were uncharacteristically quiet. I’m sure she’s heard worse from the bedroom.”

“But she obviously knew what we were doing. She must have, you and I being pressed up against the wall of a pool,” she shakes her head, her hand moving with it.

“Ah, who cares? If anything, Gertie has just found out that we’re back at it. She’s probably more upset at the idea that she’s going to have to start listening to it again. Because if I have anything to do with it, this is going to happen often and you’re a screamer.”

She moves her hand away rapidly, holding it into the air, as she looks at him crazily.

“No, I’m not!”

“You are…” He’s laughing now.

“I’m not!”

“You really are,” he strokes at her behind again, attempting to sooth her.

“You’re hardly quiet!” She grips his shoulders again, the pinning against the poolside having been softened, him beginning to move out further.

“I didn’t say I was. And I wasn’t complaining you were. I actually love it. It’s a turn on,” he punctuates this with a quick kiss to her lips.

She shakes her head and moves her hand to touch the back of her hair.

“Did it get wet?” She touches around feeling every hair dry.

“Nah, I held you up the whole time. It wasn’t worth the earache. Though the temptation to dunk you right now is pretty immense.”

She looks at him shocked.

“I’m your wife! Would you really do that?”

“No, but the temptation to torment you is high because you’re my wife,” he is grinning madly now, walking around with her gripped around him still.

“Right, take me to the stairs. I’m getting out,” he laughs but abides by her wishes walking her to the stairs until she can grip them.

He continues floating, watching her ascent. **Some ass.** She doesn’t notice, walking over to the towels placed out on the lounger.

“Do you want to go to the party tonight? Are you feeling up to it?” She asks beginning to dry herself with a towel.

“Yeah, I’m not really tired. Plenty of time to take an hour nap later if I do.”

“Okay then, we need to start prepping for this party. I need to call Dick back. Look out clothes. I definitely need to take a bath after all of… that.” She looks to him, still rubbing at her legs with the towel.

“Why don’t you just lie down on the lounger for a half hour, it will dry you right up before you go inside,” he is swirling around in the water now.

She ceases her drying, watching him. _Look how cute he is._

“You’re such a child. You only want me to stay out here so I don’t force you inside and you can stay in the pool longer,” she teases, laughing at him.

“I’m a water baby! I love it in here,” he swishes in the water, smiling up at her.

“Half an hour!”

She says pointing at him, taking a seat, reaching for her drink.

“Half an hour,” he repeats moving onto his back to float.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well that went nowhere I expected it to go. I knew I wanted a wee pool scene but that was real fluffy.  
> Don't worry, it isn't staying that way! 
> 
> Sorry it took me so long to update. Started getting in my head about it and whether I should continue. Then I started watching musicals again and got the inspiration back I needed. 
> 
> Hope y'all enjoy :)


	17. Equality

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please be aware that I'm trying to be as historically accurate as possible. I've spent so long researching as much as I can to get facts right so I don't offend anyone. If something is off just let me know!

She had spent 45 minutes soaking up the sun on the lounger by the pool, sipping at her drink, unwilling to disturb him swirling around in the pool, until she declared that she was going inside for her bath to begin getting ready. He had dutifully followed, feeling a bit tired. **Maybe he did need a nap**. He had dried himself down with the towel by her lounger as she finished off the drink Gertie had kindly brought out to her half an hour ago. She was sure Gertie had a knowing smile on her face, however, when she went to double take, Gertie’s face was straight. _Ace was right, she must have heard worse than that before, right? She was refusing to be embarrassed. She had waited to long for this feeling of fulfilment to give it up to embarrassment._

They had gone upstairs, her grabbing her purse on and listing everything she had to do on the way. She had decided to have a bath before she had to call Dick. She was afraid of bad news that would ruin her tranquillity. She had turned on the faucets to the bath, pouring in a healthy amount of oils, as he changed out of his swimming shorts into pyjama bottoms.

“Do you want me to wake you at any time?”

She was moving around the bedroom, looking in the wardrobe for possible ideas for an outfit for this evening whilst waiting for her bath to run. _She wasn’t sure what to wear. There were many options. She wanted to look elegant, sophisticated. It sounded ridiculous but it was her first party with Ace in years where she was actually looking forward to being on his arm. She was finally happy, and she wanted to display that to anyone willing and unwilling to pay attention to it._

She pulls out one dress, looking at it. He settles into his pillow, closing his eyes.

“Just whenever you think. What time is it now?”

She moves the dress back into the closet, looking at her watch after.

“Ten past four. Dinner is at 6,” she looks over to him.

“Uhm… I just need to shower, quick shave, get dressed. Just wake me when you’re out of the bath.”

She pulls another dress out of the wardrobe, _her deep red, fitted one, she was yet to wear it, this is definitely a contender. Would go beautifully with her sable and the red hat she had bought to match it._

“All right, darling,” she says hanging the red dress back into the wardrobe and walking into the bathroom.

She removes all of her makeup at the sink before she soaks in the bathtub for perhaps a half hour, washing her body, removing all hair, and grooming her body. She alights from the bathtub and begins the routine of moisturising, kneading the cream into every inch of her body. She fixes at her hair in the mirror as she waits for her body to dry a little from the moisturising, shimmying into her scarlet dressing gown after.

When she leaves the bathroom, she looks over to see he is still sleeping, _snoring actually. She would let him sleep a little longer. He wouldn’t be as long as she._

She moves to the vanity table to begin her facial skin care routine, plucking at her eyebrows, ensuring perfection. She looks into the mirror, running her fingers up her cheek bones, tightening the skin. _She was beginning to look old. She didn’t look bad! But she wasn’t as young as she used to be, and it was showing. Well there wasn’t much she could do about it. She had the best skin care products available, hand mixed to suit her skin type especially by Helena Rubinstein herself._

She remembers that she still needs to call Dick, looking at her watch now. _5pm_. _She had better wake Ace also._

She moves over to sit on the edge of her side of the bed, turning to look at him.

“Ace, time to get up.”

He moans immediately into his pillow, turning towards her. She sniggers at his reaction to being disrupted.

“Come on now,” she says as she turns away from him, picking up the telephone.

He opens his eyes as he huffs looking at her, “what time is it?”

“Five,” still listening to the dial tone as she begins putting the numbers into the rotary to call back Dick.

He closes his eyes again as she sits listening to the ringing, looking back at him briefly. She sees he has closed his eyes again. _For God’s Sake._

“Ace!”

He jumps at her voice, “okay, okay, I’m up!”

Just then Dick picks up.

“Hi, Dick. You called me….”

He sits listening to only her end of the conversation, as he begins to sit up, running his hands through the little hair that he has, trying to awaken fully.

“Yeah, yeah, we’re coming. We are going to have dinner here first, so will miss out on that. We are on a specific diet so we will show up a little later. By the time we are finished, we should probably get there 8/8.30…”

He can hear that her voice is excited. **She probably hasn’t been out in such a long while to one of these parties. He usually doesn’t go. Was usually stuck in the studio, schmoozing some actor, flying out to London to poach someone.**

“yeah, so probably get there just when you have just finished dinner, yeah… yeah… who’s all going? … Oh! Tallulah! … Oh, who’s coming after dinner?”

The answer she receives is not what she is expecting. She can feel the smile falling from her face. _How could she have been so stupid? Of course, people from the studio were going to be there. Claire, Jack, Camille, Raymond, Rock, Archie, even Henry! How the hell was she supposed to expect a room full of people not to talk about the studio? About the movie. She knew this time had been coming but had been hoping to put it off until after the party. She was going to have to tell him before they went. It had to come from her._

“Oh… ehm… that sounds great,” her change in the tone of her voice is obvious and she knows it. **What had Dick said to warrant that?**

“Yeah, Dick, yeah… All right. See you then. Bye.”

She hangs up the telephone on the receiver, feeling complete dread. _Why couldn’t she just have a moment of elation before it fucks up._

She doesn’t turn around to face him. Her fists dig into the bed on either side of her thighs, whilst he looks at her back, noticing everything. He ventures carefully.

“What’s wrong?”

His voice shocks her out of her thoughts, she looks around to him.

“What? Oh, nothing. Some people from the studio are coming to the party,” she attempts a fake smile, clasping her hands in her lap and looking down at them, fidgeting with her fingers.

“Yeah… will be good to see them,” he remains looking at her. Noticing her hands fretting.

 **The Lady MacBeth hand ringing is always a tell-tale sign of her anxiety.** “What’s wrong? Is Jack going? Because I thought we sorted that out the other night. I had a nice conversation with him…”

_She hadn’t even thought of that._

“No, it’s not that,” she says quietly, her hands ceasing their movements.

**What the hell could it be then? Was the Gas station guy going?**

_She was going to have to get a grip. She had made the right decision and it was his decision to leave her in charge of the studio, so he was going to have to deal with whatever she has chosen to do. She just couldn’t be bothered with the fight it would likely lead to a fight and ruin the good night she had so been looking forward to._

She sits up fully now, looking directly at him.

“Okay Ace. I’ve got some things I need to tell you about the studio, but I want you to hear me out and not overreact.”

**About the studio? Overreact? She couldn’t have done anything that bad. Lon would have forced his way into the hospital room if she had.**

“Okay…”

“So, you know the movie you green lit. Peg?”

“Yeah, I was going to pull it or get someone else to re-write it. I was pissed off at Dick because he didn’t tell me the writer was coloured. The day I had the heart attack I went crazy at him and Ellen. I told him about the Hays code and how it would sink the studio. I told him to find a new writer or slap someone else’s name on it and still pay the guy.”

She looks over to him, taking a deep breath.

“Yeah, well that’s what happened. At first. However, …”

He interrupts her, “Avis, don’t tell me that he’s the writer.”

She pulls her head back, looking at him challengingly, “actually Ace, not only is he the writer but the movie has now been changed from Peg to Meg. It’s the same story but it’s staring a black girl, Camille Washington in the role of Meg and Jack is playing the romantic lead across from her.”

He is aghast. **How could she do this?**

“ARE YOU FUCKIN’ NUTS!”

He throws back the covers of the bed, getting out to pace the floor next to the bed. She looks down sighing at the bedspread.

“No, no I’m not.”

She looks up at him now, her face stern, he’s still pacing wildly.

“Have you ever heard of the fuckin’ Hays Code?! You can’t depict an interracial couple on screen! It’s seen as deviant sexual behaviour! A repellent subject matter! Anti-national feeling! Are you all fuckin’ insane?! It’s gonna sink the studio! Tell me you’ve not announced it yet?!”

He is throwing his hands around wildly into the air, his voice growing louder and louder. However, she keeps completely calm.

“Yes, it has been announced and yes, I am perfectly aware of all of the facts of the Hays code, Ace.”

“Then what the FUCK were you thinking?!”

He is gesturing wildly towards her.

“Ace. If you shut the fuck up and calm down, I will tell you exactly what I was thinking.”

_She’s not intimidated by his shouting. She’s been through this before. She knew it was coming._

She looks at him challengingly, as he huffs and continues pacing. She takes his silence as an invitation to speak. She looks at him directly. _She wasn’t shying away from this. She had nothing to hide._ He stops, looking at her directly, still panting.

“As I was saying, everything went exactly as you requested. We watched the screen tests back and it was between Claire and Camille, the black girl, who is also Raymond, the director’s girlfriend. Camille was a lot better than Claire and you know how we both felt about Claire going into movies at that point. But I told Dick and Ellen to cast Claire. They tried to convince me to cast Camille who clearly has more talent and could easily be a huge movie star if it were not for her colour. They wanted to do a re-write so she could be in the part. I told them no, that I wasn’t willing to sink the studio, not to mention the other consequences that would come from it. I told Raymond to tell his girlfriend that she wasn’t right for the part and I left.”

She pauses looking down at the bed again, he throws his hands up in the air.

“So, what the fuck happened then?”

She can feel her temper rising at his offensive on her.

“I was reminded of the bullshit going on out there, Ace! Things that I have been disgusted by my whole life. Things that I know disgusts you too!” She points at him as shouts back.

“I was reminded not just of the inequality, but of the racism, the brutality going on as we speak. Of Jim Crow, the beatings, the lynching’s that they are facing on a daily basis just because of a specific characteristic – their skin colour. I was reminded of all the things that both you and I have faced. The discrimination against us just because of our religion, Ace. Not just the fact I didn’t get to fulfil my dream as a movie star, not just the Shoah and the war, Ace. But the shit we used to deal with first-hand in New York when we were kids. That my parents struggled to get an apartment when they came over here. That they couldn’t get jobs and then torn apart accused of stealing business from others because they had dared to then make a business of their own. Then when the first war came, we were ‘slackers’ and ‘war-profiteers’. And when I wanted to take lessons in dance and singing, I had to try three places until someone would take a Jew. You even told me about your father’s store and how they would smash the windows. How people would call you names in the street as a kid. The fights you used to get into. You saw what happened to Leo Frank in Atlanta. You forget the KKK have come after us too, for decades! It still happens now! That’s exactly what they are dealing with right now as well, Ace. We are neighbours in this, Ace! All in it together! All putting up with the same bullshit!”

She can feel herself getting emotional and passionate as she shouts at him. She can see that he has softened also. _He remembers what they have had to go through for years. Up against the wind. It wasn’t a law like it was for black people, but they were still being discriminated against to this day._

**She wasn’t wrong. The struggle he had even gone through in Hollywood. In the studios. Having to make his own studio just to get anywhere. It had been present of their whole lives. But he had deliberately tried to move away from thinking about that. He had got his studio. He was well respected now.**

“I sat and ruminated over it for days Ace. It wasn’t a decision made on a whim. I thought about the boycotts we would face, the productions we would need to halt and how it could bankrupt the studio. I thought about all the people who could lose their jobs because of my decision. I thought about how all of us would become a direct target for the KKK. I told them we just couldn’t do it. But it weighed on me Ace. I sat and thought about it for days, couldn’t sleep a wink. I looked like shit, felt like shit. I kept thinking about what this would mean to be the first to make the change. To not follow the pack into complete utter fucking racism like this country seems to always fall back into because of ignorant people starting a fucking mob mentality. I thought about what it would have meant to see famous Jewish people a movie when I was a kid. I made my way here, Ace, but I was so afraid to. I had talent. I could sing better than anyone I knew. I could act better. And yet I never made it, because I looked too Jewy. Imagine what it would mean to a little black girl seeing a black woman on the big screen, knowing it was possible to follow your dreams. Every single person on this Earth was born by pure fluke. Every single one of us should be equal and have the opportunity to make it. We only have one chance on this Earth, and we should be able to become whatever we want to. That’s the point in the freedom that this America is supposed to offer. And yet look at me, Ace. I haven’t been able to fulfil a goddamned thing because of racism! I can’t force through laws to change anything. I can’t force fucking ignorant hicks into believing that everyone is equal. I can only do what is within my power, and that Ace is what was within my power. It was my ability to contribute and fight against racism. Being vocal about it isn’t enough. We need to be brave. Make the first move. Be the first, Ace! That’s what the studio should be about. Doing the things that no one else dares to!”

She becomes silent, looking at his back, as he now stares out the window listening to her.

“I thought about what you would think, Ace. I knew you would be thinking of the studio. Of course, you would. You wouldn’t have such a successful studio if you didn’t know how to make business flourish. Make the right financial decisions. But Ace, I know that you agree with me. I know that whilst you want to make money and you know exactly how to do that, you don’t agree with the bullshit that goes on in this world. You, me, our families have been subject to that for years. I know you feel just as passionately as me about it. You just play by the rules complacently to make money. I know that. And I know that it was a risk. I know that it could just make everything worse. So, I invited Dick and Ellen to the house and told them no. I wasn’t going to cast her.”

He looks around at her now, she looks to him pleadingly.

“But then Dick made a really good point. Look at us, Ace. Look at our life!”

She lifts her hands gesturing and looking around the room.

“What the FUCK do we have to lose? We are surrounded by wealth and money. You and I could sell this house and everything in it and run away to fucking Timbuktu if we wanted and live our lives comfortably for the rest of our lives. What the fuck was I risking? A new diamond ring? A new car? We are risking fuck all, Ace. It’s everyone else I was worried for. But they wanted to take the risk, Ace. We have a great bunch of people there. There wasn’t one person unwilling to take the risk. Not one person resigned or protested after I made the decision. People are just as sick of it, Ace.”

He shook his head, looking at her.

“But Avis, this isn’t just about money. It’s about safety. If the KKK haven’t struck already, they will.”

She brings a hand up to her eyes, swiping at them. He watches as she gets off the bed and moves to her purse, reaching in to grab her cigarette case and lighter. _He was going to flip._

She takes a cigarette, offering him one, though he declines. She lights it, taking a huge drag for some alleviation of the stress.

“They have struck,” she exhales slowly, looking at him directly. His eyes widen in shock.

“Camille started receiving threatening phone calls. They left a burning cross outside the houses of Camille and Raymond, of Archie, and outside of here.”

“HERE?!” **He was furious. His home. They had targeted his home. His wife. His daughter. WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON HERE?**

She nods, taking another drag of her cigarette, exhaling a huge cloud of smoke above her.

“Yeah, we got security though. They are still watching the house now. They are watching everyone else’s houses. They are checking the studio buildings several times a day. I offered bungalows to the others if they wanted it. I contacted the police, who are also patrolling. I took care of it.”

“THIS IS EXACTLY WHAT I WAS TALKING ABOUT! You can’t make decisions like this because it puts people’s lives in danger, Avis. Why the fuck did you remain living here?! What if they are watching the security and waiting for their moment to pounce?! You don’t fuck with these people, Avis! They don’t give a fuck about how much money you have! They will break into your house, pull you out of your bed in the middle of the night. Rape you, torture you, murder you! FOR FUCK SAKE!”

**He is incensed. He’s angry at her. Worried for her. Wants to hug a wall. Pull her close. He had kept his head down his whole life so he would never be a victim to these fucking animals and here they were attacking his family.**

He is back to pacing, dragging his hands across his face.

“I know, Ace. I could hardly eat after it happened. I had so many regrets. I came to see you the night before you woke up. I was upset and panicking. I didn’t think I was cut out for the job. I was so worried for everyone at the studio. For Claire, myself, Gertie! You have no idea the torment I’ve been under.”

“Yeah, no fucking wonder!”

She shook her head, taking another drag of her cigarette.

“Look Ace, I know your upset,” she exhales, “but it’s not as bad as you think. It’s honestly under control. Everyone is still willing to take the risk. And I’ve seen some of the picture, Ace. It’s a good picture. One of the best I’ve seen if it keeps going the way it is.”

He is back to looking out of the window, down at where the cross would have been.

“Avis, that doesn’t matter if no one goes to fucking see it or if we are all fuckin’ murdered before it’s even finished.”

She takes her final draw and walks to the ashtray at the side of the bed to put out the cigarette, “Oh, don’t be so dramatic.”

She exhales the smoke. He swings around towards her, stopping in his tracks.

“Don’t be so dramatic? Are you fuckin' kiddin' me?! You’re the target of the fuckin’ KKK and you think I’m being dramatic!”

She sighs, sitting back on the bed still facing him. _Why wouldn’t he just listen? She couldn’t be bothered with him when he was shouting and balling like this._

“How bad is it, Avis?” He pauses, nodding manically, “boycotts?”

She sighs again, “yeah, they started picketing ‘All Hands on Deck’ and then it was pulled from theatres in Alabama. It’s not going to recoup its budget, but it probably never was going to. How did you ever green light it, Ace? It’s truly terrible.”

He looks at her, offended.

“It’s not that bad.”

She rolls her eyes, looking at him knowingly. _Come on, Ace. Let’s be real._

“So exactly what I thought would happen did happen?”

She ignores his question, giving more information.

“And contract players, Lawson, Daniels, and McHadden refused to work on any films whilst Meg is in production. But they have been fired and replaced, and we are in the process of suing them for breach of contract now. But it’s hardly surprising, McHadden is practically in the Klan. I wouldn’t want him working there anyway,” she’s swiping at the air non-chalantly.

He huffs, sitting on the bed, putting his head in his hands, his elbows on his knees.

“Jesus Christ. This, I was not expecting.”

She rolls her eyes, shrugging behind him, still looking at his back.

They are silent for a moment. _It was deafening_.

He finally breaks the silence.

“Surely you have had backlash about the breaking of the Hays Code?”

“Sure, the other studios are kicking up a fuss. But it’s a code. Not a law. The only reason it was even put into place is because movies then had showed real life – sex, drugs, interracial relationships, crime, suggestive dancing. You can’t even show a bathroom, Ace.” She rolls her eyes again, still shocked by its stupidity, but continues.

“And the good Christian morons of this country thought it was corrupting their kids when they were doing all the same shit themselves! There were too many men that had too bad a hard on for Mae West and their wives weren’t happy about it, so they decided to restrict everyone’s thinking like it would suddenly make them all moral.”

She pauses then, not moving. Watches as he breathes deeply into the palms of his hands. She goes on. 

“Hedda obviously is talking about it a lot in her column. Anything that is controversial, you can be sure she is going to fire it up. Which obviously makes Louella jump on the wagon.”

He whips his head round to her now.

“Yeah, Avis. Hedda has 35 million readers alone! 35 million people who won’t come to see the fuckin’ movie!”

She quirks an eyebrow, “or is it 35 million interested customers, with free advertising.”

He scoffs, shaking his head, and turns back around.

“Well think about it,” she says crawling up behind him, “if you were sitting at home in your poxy little house in the middle of nowhere, living a boring life, and everyone was talking about this big controversial movie, would you not go see it, if only to have something to moan to your friends and church about? Let’s be honest, Peg was always going to be a shitty C movie, it was never going to make anything. This, however, with its controversy just might be one of the biggest money makers this studio has ever seen.”

She can see her enthusiastic pitch, isn’t having the effect she is looking for. She tries a different approach.

“The pictures are going stale, Ace. They are boring because of the Hays code. You forget why we came to Hollywood in the first place. To tell stories. Of real life. Of real people.”

She is almost sitting beside him, her legs strewn behind his back. She lifts a hand to touch his shoulder, stroking it down his arm. He sighs heavily and turns to look at her.

“Do you not see what they are doing to people now, Avis? The government? The Hollywood Ten? They were all blacklisted, Avis. For being a part of the Communist party. For having ideals just like this. Loads of screenwriters no longer able to work because of that. It’s only going to get worse. RKO pictures had to shut down last year because the public turned against them, so they had to shut to sift out the commies. You think the Hays code was created by Hollywood? Those pictures were making money, Avis. It was political pressure that brought it all into place. There is no way they are going to let this lie. It’s only going to get worse. There are too many people who are going to suffer because of this, Avis.”

He puts his head back in his hands.

“Then we will need to fight it. It’s the right thing to do. Everyone at the studio is behind us, Ace.”

He turns around to face her fully now, grabbing at her upper arms. _She is shocked by that. He is angry but he isn’t going to hit her, surely? She had never considered that._

“Have you been reading the news, Avis? These are powerful people. They don’t care about me, or you, or Dick, or Ellen, or fuckin’ Jimmy, or Harry, or anyone who is in that studio. They give a shit about protecting their own interests! They give a shit about public opinion. About getting enough votes for their next term.”

He holds onto her upper arms. When she looks into his eyes, she doesn’t she anger, she sees something else. _Worry. He wasn’t going to hit her. He doesn’t want to hurt her. He is afraid._ She lifts a hand to his face, stroking his cheek.

“I know, Ace. But like I said before, if we don’t do this, what’s the point? We live our whole life sitting on the fence, not making a difference because we want to add even more trinkets to this mansion? More jewellery to my jewellery box? More paintings to our collection?”

She moves his hand to his chin, moving it to get his attention to look at her fully, “Or do you want to leave a legacy?”

He looks into her eyes and shakes his head, removing his hands from her arms and standing.

“No Avis. It can’t go ahead. There is too much at stake. I’m not talking about money. I’m talking about people’s livelihood. Not ours. I’m talking about all those people at the studio who rely on this paycheck. I’m talking about powerful politicians who will put our name on a list so fast that we may as well pack our shit up and put our house on the market now. I’m talking about the fuckin’ KKK, who could break into our house and harm you or Claire. I can’t let any of that happen. I can’t.”

**He’s panicking. He can feel it. He has the ability to stop all this from happening.**

She sighs, bringing a hand up to her face, swiping upward on her face as she sighs and then settling on her chin, her elbow leaning on her lap.

“It’s already done, Ace.” She’s matter of fact about it. _But it’s the truth_

“Well then we are going to have to see what we can do on Monday to turn it around because it’s too much to risk. I get why you did it, Avis. I get it. I know what we have been through with racism and whatever, but it’s too much to risk. It’s for that reason that we need to keep our heads down. We have had a target on our backs our whole lives. I have worked my whole life to remove that target to the best of my ability. To provide a good life for us. For you. For Claire. We can’t bring that target back.”

“But, Ace…”

“No, Avis,” he’s raising his voice at her.

_She’s angry. He can’t just throw around his authority here! They were equals here. He wasn’t going to shut her down like this!_

“So, I don’t have a say in this? So, my opinion and my decision doesn’t matter?”

She’s biting at him; she can hear it.

**She’s angry but it’s too much to risk. He needs to put his foot down. It’s his studio. The final decision lies with him. Whilst what she did was noble, it was the wrong decision.**

“There is too much at risk here. I don’t want to talk about it anymore. We will look at reversing any damage on Monday,” he starts walking towards the bathroom, throwing his hands in the air, shaking them, shaking his head also.

She huffs, half laughing in anger, nodding her head, sticking her tongue into the inside of her cheek. _She can’t believe she’s being shut down. She’s so angry. She knows that she is ready to blow. She’s going to say something she regrets._

_She needs to get out of this room._

She manoeuvres off of the bed, quickly walking to the vanity table to grab her cigarette case and lighter.

“I’m going to go for a shower now,” he says looking to her, watching her movements.

She looks to him as she reaches the door she’s stormed towards, grabbing the handle and opening it.

“Go fuck yourself, Ace,” she sneers and walks through the door, slamming it behind her.

_Fuck._


	18. Welcome to the Party

She storms downstairs towards the back garden. _She needs some fresh air. Needs space._

As she reaches the French doors, she hears Gertie behind her.

“Mrs Amberg, would you like the Merlot or the Cabernet Sauvignon with dinner?”

“Whatever you think is best,” she shouts over her shoulder dismissively, walking through the doors towards the pool.

She takes a cigarette out of her cigarette case, throwing it onto the lounger, lighting the cigarette and taking a huge drag whilst she begins pacing along the length of the pool, twisting to turn back repetitively when she gets to its edge.

_How could he dismiss her like that? How could he be so narrow-minded, so impetuous, so stubborn? All that work she had put in whilst he was incapacitated. All the suffering she had endured making these decisions and dealing with their consequences. And it was all for nothing? He wanted to reverse all the hard work they had all done. She would be a laughingstock. She can imagine Hedda’s column now. ‘Studio wife put in her place’. ‘Mrs Amberg should have stuck to planning charity events rather than running a studio’. She doesn’t even imagine Lon’s smug face. Fucking Lon. Was this how it was going to be when he came back to the studio? Was her opinion just going to be dismissed? She would have to talk to Ellen and Dick tonight at the party. See if they could appease him. She understands his worry. She knows it’s a risk. Everyone knows it’s a risk. Wasn’t it better to have this change? Wasn’t that how all change started?_

_She was just so angry at how he shut her down. He heard her out at first, but how could he make a decision so quickly. She had taken days and days to process it, consider it, war with it. But she had seen the fear in his eyes. He was worried for them all. Wanted to stick to the status quo. But wasn’t it worth the risk? Had everything she had said to him not resonated? All of the pain she had reminded him of that they had to go through because they were Jewish. Did that mean nothing to him? She wasn’t going to fight him on it, it was best to allow him to cool off. She wasn’t going to make a fool of herself anyway. She had made her points and she knew she was right. But if he thought he was going to continue talking to her like he had, he could dream on. She just needed to get to Dick’s party. Have a good long drink and talk to Ellen and Dick about it. Maybe they would know what to do. She would stay silent with him until that part. She wasn’t going to give him another opportunity to diminish her. Asshole._

She stubs out her cigarette that she has burned out and takes a deep breath, grabbing her cigarette case and making her way back upstairs.

***

He goes for a shower, finding that he can’t stop thinking about what she had said to him.

**He knows how this industry works. Hell, he knows how this world works. It’s full of narrow-minded selfish fuckin’ morons. He had been at the hands of them his whole life. He had lived through watching his family being discriminated against in the Bronx. He remembered his father’s store front being smashed. Three times it had happened. How his family would always have to put their heads down and just take it. He had been so young when it first happened, maybe 5 or 6. He had been so afraid. He remembered his mother trying to explain it to him. He remembered sitting on her knee as he realised for the first time that being Jewish was apparently a problem. He didn’t really understand. But it had opened his eyes. He remembered finally noticing everything after that. The looks. The cashier’s grimaces towards his mother when she had gone to buy food. That they had started shopping in predominantly Jewish stores after that. More Jewish families were coming into the community, they all decided to lean on one another. He remembered getting into a fight with 3 boys in his school when he was 8, who had called him a kike. He had been beaten to a pulp but had put up a good fight. He remembered when the last time his father’s store front had been smashed, he had been a teenager. Had been so angry, so resentful. Had shouted and balled in his living room asking his father what they were going to do about it. What the police were going to do about it? He remembered his father had been so calm. Had told him to keep his head down. Had told them it was a factor of life and if they were to fight against it, it would just make it worse. He hadn’t understood it then, but he understood as he got older. The more fights he got into as a young guy, the more black eyes he got, he realised wouldn’t make it any better. He learned to play the game. He learned how to keep his head down, use his charm to get ahead. Had come to Hollywood and started new. He had been the subject of ridicule and slander all through his life. Hollywood was no difference.**

He left the shower now, drying himself off, putting on his dressing gown. He moves into the bedroom, to his wardrobe to look for a suit to wear.

**But he learned to play by the rules, that if he kicked up as little fuss as possible, he could learn from them all and make his own money. Be his own boss so he didn’t have to work for all the racists and bigots out there. It had worked. Of course, there were plenty who still hated him because he was Jewish, but it didn’t hold him back now. He had the last laugh now. He had his studio, his money, his power. He ran this town now. By playing the game. You didn’t do that by starting controversy and drawing attention to yourself. You did it by laying low and making your moves silently. But she had drawn attention to the whole thing. There was no telling the damage she had done now. The people who would be after them. The government. The other studios. The KKK. The gossip columnists. He understood why but she was making decisions with her heart, not her head. She was right about there being no risk in money, they had money. But he couldn’t risk all of the people in the studio. They all relied on that place for income. Their families relied on it. Not even that. The KKK had hit their house. They knew where they lived and were actively targeting them. They could go after Avis, after Claire. He wouldn’t be able to live with himself if he didn’t do all he could to prevent that. He couldn’t lose them. Avis would be the primary target being the one who gave this the go ahead. He just got Avis back. How would he live with himself if she was harmed? He wasn’t willing to risk that. Not a chance. His father had been right. There were always going to be people out there who did this. Fighting it just made it worse. He had too much to lose. Not his money, his family. He couldn’t. He just couldn’t.**

He hears the door open behind him, Avis entering. He looks around to her, locking eyes with her. She’s still stony faced, looking at him indignantly. **He wasn’t going to change his mind. He didn’t care how angry she was. This was for her he was doing this.** She looks to him briefly and tears her eyes away quickly, moving over to her vanity. He watches as she moves to her vanity table, as she takes a seat, moving to pick up her make-up, looking at the reflection as she begins to administer it.

She can feel his eyes on her back, _he can look as much as he wants. I’m not saying a fucking thing. Idiot._

**He hated silence. He should say something.**

“Are you ok?” He is holding up a black pinstripe suit, remaining in his place cautiously.

“What do you think?” She answers sharply, moving to apply her eye makeup. He moves a hand over his face, pulling at it.

“Avis, come on babe, don’t be this way…”

_He sounds exasperated._

She stops suddenly and looks into the mirror to meet his eyes.

“How.am.I.being.Ace?” She pronounces every single syllable sharply, looking at him challengingly.

He shakes his head and breaks eye contact, placing his suit on the bed. **What’s the fuckin’ point?** He turns his back on her, moving over to his dresser, to withdraw the rest of his clothing. She watches every move realising he knows he has been defeated before he has even begun. She smirks and returns to the mirror, resuming her makeup administration. _Good. Fucking jackass._

They both get ready in complete silence. She finishes her makeup application and moves to the wardrobe, choosing the red dress she had settled on earlier. When she begins to dress, she decides to forego changing in the bathroom. _She wants him to suffer._

He is almost fully dressed, doing up his tie next to his side of the bed, when she removes her robe on the opposite side of the bed, manoeuvring into her black corselette. She does not look at him at all though she faces him, simply concentrates on squeezing into the undergarment and doing up the hooks. He catches a glimpse of her and looks away hurriedly. **He knows the game she’s trying to play here. He’s not going to lose out to it.**

She looks up briefly, seeing that he is focussing on his tie. _Not for long_. She moves to sit on the bed with her back to him, slipping the nude stockings up her legs. When they are sitting at her thighs, she stands again and faces him so she can clip them. She chances a look at him, he’s now fiddling with his braces. Still not looking at her. She moves over to the chaise lounge and lifts a leg onto its seat and begins to clip one slowly.

Her movements catch his attention. **She was good. Look at her. She knew exactly what she was doing.** He could feel a stirring immediately. **She was being a complete temptress and she knew it.** He looks down immediately again, trying to think of anything he could to stop himself getting worse, whilst she raises her other leg. **Ehm… Dick Samuels, Miss Stinson, Eleanor Roosevelt, Louella Parsons, Lon Silver. There we go.**

She sways over to her dress on the bed, chancing a look at him, seeing him move onto his cufflinks. He refuses to look up at her. **He will not be beaten at this.** _Come on, Ace. You know you’re tempted. Look up._

She picks up her dress and steps into it, pulling it up, moving her arms into it, and reaches behind her for the zip. She moves it up to her waist and begins huffing at not being able to get it up from this angle. He looks up at her huffing, figuring it’s safe she’s wearing the dress now. When he sees her lift her head, he moves his back down immediately, finally fastening the second cufflink.

She looks to him, sees him flinch his gaze away. _HA!_ She smiles conspiringly. _She had an idea._ She walks over to him.

“Can you do this up?”

Turns her back on him when she is standing next to him, not waiting for his response.

He looks down at her. **He wishes they weren’t fighting. He would pull the zip back down and invade any bit of skin he could see. How had they gone from orgasms in the pool to this in only the space of a couple of hours.**

He pulls the zip up to the top quickly.

“There,” he says turning around and slipping into his shoes.

She moves away immediately, sitting back at her vanity. She figures she will come back for her hat before they go. She reviews her makeup, ensuring it is still intact. She begins choosing jewellery, opting for her new pearls.

He sees her collecting the pearls. **She is stunning.** He can feel himself becoming aroused again. **He needs out of here.**

She chances a glance at Ace and sees him collecting his suit jacket, moving directly to the door.

“I will get you down there. I want to get some fresh air,” he mumbles as she walks out the door.

She doesn’t answer, simply smirks and watches as he leaves in the reflection. When the door closes, she laughs a little, going back to the clasp of the bracelet on her wrist.

***

Dinner is an unsurprisingly silent affair. They do not utter a word throughout it. Avis can’t help noticing Gertie is surprised when serving though she tries to hide it.

_She can imagine why. Three hours ago, they had been caught in the act and now they aren’t speaking. She can see why that would be confusing._

They had caught each other’s eyes a few times. The only difference between Ace and Avis is that Ace would look away when it happened, she however would continue to glare as if it were a staring contest, being declared the winner on every occasion.

As soon as she had finished eating and draining her wine, she had not waited for him, leaving the table and going directly upstairs to finish getting ready. He stops eating when she leaves, he has lost his appetite with this bickering.

**What was the point in going to Dick’s house if they weren’t even speaking? He had a good mind just to stay home. He had been so looking forward to going though.**

She arrives back downstairs within five minutes as he still sits at the dining room table. She has her hat pinned, her red lipstick beaming, her sable coat over her arm, and her black purse in her hand. She moves to her dining room chair, drapes the coat across it’s back, sits back down at the table, taking out her cigarette case, removing a cigarette, and lighting it. She looks directly at him fiercely, taking a draw of the cigarette and exhaling dramatically, as Gertie comes from the kitchen with an ashtray which she sits beside her.

“Thank you, Gertie,” she says tapping the cigarette into the ashtray, moving it back to her red lips to take another draw.

“That’s me finished, Gertie. Delicious as always,” he forces a smile as the maid comes to take his plate away. He looks to Avis again, who is still staring, eyebrows quirked. **She’s challenging him. He can see it. Okay then, let’s play.**

He stands abruptly and walks up the stairs. **She hadn’t said she was leaving, neither would he.**

He comes back down a few minutes later wearing his overcoat and hat, puts his hands in his pockets to ensure he has his cigarette case and lighter. Once he feels it is there, he looks to her. She stares back, a smirk on her face, watching his every move, taking another draw of her cigarette.

He is the first to break the silence.

“You ready?”

_He looks angry. Good._

She scoffs and stamps her cigarette into the ashtray, rising from her seat. She collects her purse and lifts the coat from the back of her seat, walking towards him after. She refuses to stop staring at him angrily. _She doesn’t like the feeling this is giving her. She feels bitter, sad. It’s old hat. This is how they have gone to every single party. A silent or battling dinner, followed by a challenging journey, and a party where they were lucky to even look at each other, never mind talk. She had been so looking forward to it being different today, but some things seem to never change. Maybe she had been too optimistic that his heart attack would change anything. Maybe they were going back to how they were before. She had to block that off just now, she couldn’t think that way. It was too hurtful._

However, then the unexpected happens. He walks towards her and takes the coat out of her hands.

_This was not part of their usual pre-party routine. He was deviating from their 10-year-long custom._

He shakes the fur, turning it and holding it up to her, gesturing for her to slip her arms into it. She looks at him shocked, yet cautious. He, however, continues to look into her eyes, holds the coat in place in front of her. After a moment she turns and puts her arms into the coat, shifting the holding of her purse as she does so. He pulls it up dutifully and touches her shoulders so she can turn around. He pulls the collar so that it is sitting on her evenly at the front. She doesn’t take her eyes from his, doesn’t watch what he is doing to her coat at all.

“Beautiful. Just stunning,” he says seriously looking only into her eyes.

_She is stunned. She could weep. She didn’t expect that. Why was he being so sweet when she was mad at him for being such a jackass._

He sees her face quirk a little at his compliment. **He thinks he has softened her a little**.

However, her face turns back just as quickly. _Was she that desperate for a compliment from him that she would forget everything? You’re a moron, Avis. Pathetic._

“Let’s go. They will have finished dinner by now,” she has opened the door and is already walking out of it, putting her black gloves on, not looking behind to see if he is following.

***

The fifteen-minute car journey to Dick’s is luckily not as silent thanks to the radio. However, they still don’t speak.

_She can feel her emotions at war. On the one hand she just wanted a nice night. She had been looking forward to their new dynamic around other people. She was looking forward to being showed off, to being able to show him off. However, she was still so angry at him for being so dismissive. Hopefully, Dick and Ellen would have a solution. They would be able to help her get her thoughts in order. Surely._

**He just wanted to have a good night. He hadn’t been out really in months. Why couldn’t she just let this go? He had made his decision. Couldn’t they just let sleeping dogs lie? She was such a pain in the ass when she was like this. He just wanted to have a night of talking with friends, flirting with his wife, and maybe sneak a sip of alcohol. Jesus Christ why was everything so hard.**

When they pull up in front of Dick’s house, they can hear the music blaring from inside and the street is lined with cars.

She takes a deep breath as she turns off the engine and just stares at the steering wheel. _She feels drained now. All of the anger and hurt if she were being honest was getting to her. She didn’t even feel like going in._

He looks around to her to see that she looks almost crestfallen. **He had to say something.**

“Look Avis. I know you’re angry and I know you probably don’t want to hear my voice right now, but do you think we could just keep whatever happens at the studio separate from us? Even if just for tonight? I want to have a good night and I know you were looking forward to this too. Can’t we try and get on for once? I’m not asking for roses and daises, but can we call a truce?”

He’s looking to her, trying to gauge her feelings about this. She looks to him, still crestfallen.

_She feels pathetic but that’s all she wants. An easy night for once. They could have this fight tomorrow. She was still going to talk to Dick and Ellen but she didn’t have the energy for the animosity._

She sighs, “yeah, truce. Let’s try have a good night.”

She moves to pick up her purse to move out of the car, however, he grasps her gloved hand before she can reach her purse, bringing it to his lips and kissing it. She smiles brighter at that, looking into the eyes that have not left hers.

_God, she fucking hates how he can make her feel so stupid and then can so easily soften her._

“Come one,” she says quirking her lips, shaking her head.

When she gets out of the car and moves around it, he’s waiting for her, holding out his arm. _She is surprised again. It’s starting to feel different from each other time they have went anywhere in the last 10 years. Usually he just walks ahead of her. Not caring where she was behind him. She can’t say she’s against it. That would be a lie._

She takes his arm, almost bashful as they walk up to the front door. He opens the door, knowing no one would hear a bell or a knock with the commotion going on in there, and moves aside to allow her to enter first. _This man. Acting like a fucking gentleman and making her swoon. Get it TOGETHER, Avis._

She enters, hardly able to hear herself think. They enter into a large foyer and people are everywhere: in the foyer area, standing, sitting on the stairwell. She looks to the left seeing the living room, people sitting on the sofas, leaning against the doorways, standing talking. She looks to the right seeing the entry to the kitchen and exactly the same. Music is blaring, the place is thick with smoke, the house is full of chatter. _Clearly, they weren’t the only ones who had shown up after dinner._ She recognises a few faces, but her attention is immediately drawn to Tallulah cackling at the entrance to the living room, her lips dangerously close to an apprehensive looking Rock Hudson. _Poor boy. He doesn’t know what he’s in for._

She can feel Ace wrap his hand around her waist, encouraging her to walk as she had stopped in her tracks taking everything in. She turns to speak to him, to see if he can use his height to locate Dick, however, she is spotted by Tallulah first.

“Avis, daaahhlliinngggg! You came!”

Avis smiles brightly, “here I am,” she says holding out her arms as she receives an embrace and a kiss on both cheeks from Tallulah, seeing Rock over her shoulder making a quick escape.

“And Ace!” Tallulah turns her attention to him, clearly drunk as she slurs her shout, throwing her arms around Ace’s neck. “Word on the street is that you went missing in action!”

He smiles awkwardly, kissing both Tallulah’s cheeks, grabbing her waist so she doesn’t tumble over.

“Bad flu, Tallulah! Good as new now,” he removes his hand from her waist, backing away slowly, his hands hovering as though trying to figure out if she can stand alone. Avis looks on laughing. _Ace dealing with a drunk actress, especially Tallulah was always a gas!_

Tallulah, however, grabs onto his outstretched arms, looking into his eyes knowingly as Dick comes up behind her.

“You both made it,” he says putting his hands on Tallulah’s shoulders, steering her away from Ace and turning her around.

“Walter dahhhling!” Tallulah shouts walking back into the living room. Avis laughs watching her, Ace simply shakes his head smiling.

“We made it. It’s busier than I thought, Dick,” Avis says kissing both his cheeks.

“Yeah, you know what it’s like. You tell one person, they bring another, tell another. Same old.”

He moves to shake Ace’s hand, “drink?” He looks to Avis also as he withdraws his shake.

“Uhm… yeah. Cola, and she’ll have the usual,” Ace nods to Dick.

“All right. Will get you in the living room. Ellen is in there,” he says squeezing past Ace towards the kitchen.

They both nod and look towards the living room. _It was a tight squeeze._

She looks to him and smiles, sees him looking shocked back at her. **Jesus it was busy.**

She moves first, laughing, he follows dutifully, keeping a hand at her waist. _The atmosphere was pretty infectious. Everyone seemed to be having a good time._ When she crosses the threshold to the living room, she sees Claire on the other side of the wall talking to Jack. Claire has her back to her, Jack sees her instantly, but more importantly he sees Ace towering behind her. This she can tell by his smiling and then fearful facial expression.

“Claire,” she says bringing her hand to her daughter’s waist.

Claire spins around quickly at the touch.

“Mummy! Daddy! Dick said you might be making an appearance,” she leans to kiss her mother on both cheeks as Ace nods to Jack. Jack nods back apprehensive. Claire then moves over Avis’ shoulder to do the same to her father.

“Yeah, we’re here,” Avis simply nods to Jack also and instantly looks around the room, looking through faces to see who she recognises. _Archie, Rock, don’t know her, Alice - a script girl, not a clue, weird guy, sound guy – don’t know his name, Camille, Raymond, Issac – a camera guy, Ellen!_ She waves to Ellen, trying to get her attention. Ellen waves back and beckons her over.

“There’s Ellen! We are going to go say hi,” she says to Claire and starts to move across the room.

“Oh ok,” Claire says turning her attention back to Jack.

Avis paves the way over to Ellen who is sitting on a sofa, she’s keeping the space next to her, Ace is on her heels.

“Hi,” Ellen rises and kisses both her cheeks.

“Hi, what are you doing sitting here yourself like an old maid?”

Ellen scoffs and moves past her to greet Ace with a double cheek kiss also, “if you must know Dick was sitting there and he got up to come and greet you. I thought I would save you a seat.”

Avis smirks, “oh, good! Ace, you can sit at the edge.”

“No, no, you can both sit, I can stand.”

“It’s all right, Ace. I was heading to the powder room anyway,” Ellen says kindly, gesturing to the seat.

“All right, I will keep it for you until you get back,” Ace says as he sits.

Dick approaches with two drinks handing them to both Ace and Avis.

“I will come with you to the powder room!” Avis offers, gesturing for Dick to take her seat. _A brilliant opportunity for her to tell Ellen what’s been going on._

Dick sits down next to Ace, whilst Avis gives Ellen a suggestive eye to turn around and start walking. Ellen takes the hint, leading the way to the bathroom. Once through the threshold, she closes the door behind them and locks it.

“I told him. About Meg. About everything.”

She pauses as Ellen holds up her hand, waiting in anticipation, “and?!”

“He didn’t take it well. Says he’s going to turn the whole thing around on Monday.”

Ellen threw her hands in the air, turning around in a circle, hands covering her eyes in anger.

“Did you put up a fight?”

Avis looked at her pointedly, “are you fucking kidding? I gave him the whole thing. About the racism, the bigotry, the money, how everyone was behind us. We didn’t speak all through getting dressed, dinner, or the ride here!” She’s shouting now. _How could Ellen think she wouldn’t fight for it?_

“Okay, okay!” Ellen takes a deep breath, as does Avis.

“What are we going to do?” Avis looks to Ellen pleadingly, ringing her hands.

Ellen holds up her hands, trying to calm Avis, “all right, it’s all right. He gets like this, Avis. Always has. He goes into a fit about something and then once he calms down and thinks about it, he always ends up coming around. With Richard in his ear, he usually sees sense. Let him cool off. I will talk to Dick.”

Avis nods, but doesn’t move looking to Ellen for encouragement.

“It will be fine. This always happens. I will see if I can say something to persuade him as well.”

“Okay, okay,” she turns around. Catches herself in the mirror as she turns and pats her hair and then unlocks the door leading the way out.

***

When Avis had followed Ellen away, Dick had taken a seat next to Ace.

“How’s it going, Ace? How are you feeling?”

“Well I was feeling pretty great until Avis told me about Meg today,” he starts nodding to Dick, looking at him expectantly for an explanation.

“Ah, so she told you,” Dick says unwavering, taking a sip of his drink.

“Yeah, she did. Caused a pretty big fight actually. What the hell were you thinking talking her into that Dick. You took advantage of her.”

“I did not! She knows exactly what she’s doing and exactly what’s at stake. She spent a long time thinking over that decision. Tormenting herself over the consequences. She has a mind; she has a voice. She’s not a stupid housewife, Ace.”

Ace retracts, pulling a face, “I didn’t say she was stupid. You think I would have put her in charge of the studio if I thought she was stupid? I said you took advantage of her. She was making the right decision for studio and everyone in it when she said no because she knew what was at stake and you changed her mind by appealing to her better, caring nature.”

Dick shook his head, “she cares about people, cares about making a difference. Just like you used to, Ace. She made the right decision.”

“No, she didn’t. Thanks to you and Ellen’s influence. I told you Dick, this isn’t the Dick and Ellen studios. You know what’s at stake here.”

“Yeah, actually Ace, I do.”

“You sure about that, Dick? Because it doesn’t fucking seem like it.”

“You want to talk reality? Here goes,” he sits up now, lowering his voice angrily.

“Every movie we have made in the last five years is trash. Complete trash. This movie is good. The best we have had in a long time. Not only is the story good. The actors are good. It’s moving. Worthy of several Academy awards. It will make us a ton of money. The press it will bring will get us huge audiences. The release it wider than any other has had. This is not only going to make you a fucking bomb, Ace, but more than that it’s going to make a difference too. It’s going to change how pictures are made forever. It’s going to fuck the Hays code right into the ground. Every studio will follow because everyone knows the Hays code is a bunch of fucking bullshit. But also Ace, it’s meaningful. It’s important to do what’s right. Not just follow the pack. To stand up for these people who can’t stand up for themselves.”

Ace shook his head, rolling his eyes at Dick.

“And where is that going to get us, Dick? The KKK burning a cross outside my house? My wife now a target? Where is it going to get her, Dick? Beaten? Raped? Lynched? My daughter murdered? All the people in that studio losing everything?”

Dick shook his head at Ace, piping up.

“You don’t think she is smart enough to know the risk she’s taking. She’s willing to stand up for what’s right as is everyone else in that studio. And you don’t think that it already happens to us, Ace? You saw what happened in the Shoa. There’s been a poem circulating since the end of the war by a guy who lived it over there. It goes like this:

First they came for the Communists, And I did not speak out, Because I was not a Communist.

Then they came for the Socialists, And I did not speak out, Because I was not a Socialist.

Then they came for the trade unionists, And I did not speak out, Because I was not a trade unionist.

Then they came for the Jews, And I did not speak out, Because I was not a Jew.

Then they came for me, And there was no one left, To speak out for me.

Dick was breathing raggedly, angrily spitting it at Ace, who stared him pointedly in the eye.

“You think they aren’t going to come for us eventually if they are doing it to our people already? You think it’s going to get better if no one fights against it? You think that allowing these people to be degraded and sitting back and watching it is going to stop them coming for you?”

“I’ve kept my head down and played the game my whole life to protect myself and my family from it, Dick.”

“You enjoy keeping your head down? Knowing what can happen? Knowing it could turn on you at any moment? You keep living in that fictional world. In denial. Because if there is anything that we have learned from this shit-hole of a world is that people add more groups onto it. Anyone who is a threat. Anyone who is different. We have always got it as Jews, not as bad as them, but you’ve seen the news,” Dick throws his hands in the air.

“Now they are after the commies. Who’s next, Ace, after they get the commies? It goes on and on until there is no one left.”

Ace shook his head angrily, licking at his lips, breathing heavily in anger.

“You think about it, Ace. Think about if you’re willing to live with yourself. If I were you, I would at least see the movie before you start making stupid fucking decisions.”

Dick stands abruptly still looking at him and then turns around angrily, looking to see Avis and Ellen standing in the living room doorway watching.

They had just entered the room from the bathroom. _What the hell is wrong with Dick? He looks incensed._

Dick storms towards both Avis and Ellen, stopping in front of them declaring, “he’s a fucking ignorant moron,” and storming past them to the kitchen.

_So, he knows that Ace knows then…_

She is taken aback and looks to Ellen shocked. Ellen shakes her head, bringing her hand up to her eyes, exhaling loudly.

Avis looks over to Ace, sees him sitting there fuming.

Suddenly behind her there are cheers and a commotion. She looks around to the foyer and sees everyone on the stairs cheering at the doorway.

All she hears are several cheers of,

“Ernie!!”

“Look who it is!”

“Ernie, you made it!”

“Ernie’s here!”

She looks to the doorway and sees Ernie there grinning and holding his hands up excitedly at everyone’s welcome.

_You have got to be fucking kidding me._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The poem is ""First they came ..." by Martin Niemöller. There are a few versions apparently but I just chose the first I seen. Always found it quite powerful.


	19. Jealousy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thoughts of Avis in italics.  
> Thoughts of Ace in bold.  
> Song lyrics in bold and italics.

_How had she not anticipated this? Ernie has been at the studio the last week filming. Of course, someone would invite him. Ace was already fuming. This is exactly what they did not need._

**He can’t believe Dick had the audacity to speak to him like that. Who the fuck did he think he was?** He hears commotion coming from the foyer area. He can’t see past all the people in the living room to see what it is going on though. **He’s assuming someone has just arrived. Maybe it’s Clark Gable.**

She turns to Ellen, as Ernie hugs everyone in the foyer behind her.

“What the hell is he doing here?”

Ellen is grinning widely, watching Ernie closely, not paying attention to Avis at all.

_Really? Is that all she’s going to think about just now?_

She slaps Ellen’s arm.

“Ellen! What the hell is he doing here?”

Ellen’s grin changes immediately to a wince, grabbing at the upper arm Avis has just hit hard.

“Ouch! Avis! Jesus Christ, what do you think he’s doing here? I invited him. He’s part of the cast. Everyone was invited.”

Avis’s eyes bulged at Ellen as she rounds on her, “For fuck sake, Ellen! You didn’t think to give me any kind of warning? Ace is here! This is not what we need right now! I wouldn’t have come if I knew he was coming… God dammit!”

Ellen splutters, holding her hands up, “I didn’t think.”

“The USC boys aren’t coming, are they?” She can hear the panic in her own question.

“No!” Ellen shouts, “of course not!”

Avis sighs and rolls her eyes, looking over to Ace and sees him confusedly looking at her, trying to see over everyone’s head at who is there. _Okay so he hasn’t seen Ernie is here yet, maybe she could make her way over to him and deviate him out of the room._

As she moves to walk over to him, she hears Ernie shout behind her,

“Avis, baby! I didn’t know you were coming!”

She is looking directly at Ace and sees his reaction. _The shock on his face. The anger in his eyes._ She closes her eyes, wincing at the whole thing. _Son of a bitch. Could Ernie have said anything worse!_

**He was here?! What the fuck was HE doing here? Baby? BABY?!?! Who the fuck is he calling baby?! He was ready to blow. He couldn’t be in the same room as that guy just now. He wasn’t ready yet. First the studio and now this.**

He jumps up out of his seat, he needs to get some fresh air before he commits a murder. **He’s starting to understand the guy who shot at the dick of the guy flirting with his wife.**

She opens her eyes and sees him getting up to storm to the French doors leading to the back garden. She sighs deeply and turns around to Ernie. She sees him eagerly standing grinning at her with his arms open. _She can’t help but feel angry. She knows it’s not his fault. He did nothing different to what they both usually did but right in front of Ace was not what she needed._

“Hi Ernie,” she says huffing. He leans down to greet her, embracing her, as she moves her cheek to the side to receive a kiss on it. Ernie clearly senses her unusually cold greeting.

“Wow, what’s happened? Who died?”

He’s holding his hands up looking at her shocked when he pulls back. However, he notices Ellen before he receives his response. He smiles nervously at Ellen.

“Hiya sweetheart, how are ya?”

He leans across Avis to kiss Ellen’s cheek also, holding onto her elbow. Avis looks to Ellen see her coy giggle as she receives her kiss.

“Just fine, Ernie.”

He recovers, looking back at Avis, waiting for an explanation.

“Ace is here. He’s just found out about Meg and just witnessed you calling me baby. Need I say more,” she looks at him pointedly, bringing her hand up to her forehead, huffing.

“Ah, shit! You want me to go talk to him?”

She holds her hands up to Ernie, “no, no. I will go speak to him. Just lay off the terms of endearment for now, all right?”

“All right, all right,” he looks towards Ellen now, smiling flirtatiously.

“Can I get you a drink? You look like you need a refill?”

Ellen smiles back at him enticingly, “yeah, I will show you where to go.”

Avis rolls her eyes, turning around to face the French doors across the room, stretching to see if she can see Ace outside over people’s heads. When she looks around to tell Ernie and Ellen she’s heading outside, she finds they are already gone. _Charming._

She squeezes past the people in the room, smiling to people as she passes them. When she gets to the French doors, she looks through to see Ace outside, with his arms around Vivien fucking Leigh. _What the fuck?_

***

He storms past everyone in the room, knocking over a few on the way. **Baby. Fucking baby.** He doesn’t even know if he’s thinking of it or muttering it. **He can’t believe that guy is here. Why hadn’t Avis warned him?** He took out his cigarette case; removing a cigarette, lighting it, and taking a huge draw.

**He had been getting better at the idea of it, but he wasn’t ready to see him. And the bastard was still good looking. He must have seen him 10 years ago and the guy had got better with age. Could his luck be any fucking worse? The guy was literally the definition a silver fox. How the fuck was he supposed to compete with that? He may as well give up now.**

He realises he was standing by pool himself not talking to anyone. There must have been 7 or 8 people out here and he is standing brooding himself. **He didn’t give a shit right now. He would probably punch someone if they tried to approach him.** Which obviously are his famous last words as Vivien approaches him.

“Ace! It’s been so long!”

He sighs deeply. **He can’t be assed with Vivien just now. She is always hard work.** Vivien is stumbling towards him, clearly drunk. He manages a respectful tone though when he speaks.

“Hi Vivien, how are you?”

“The usual! You know,” she holds her hands up to her head, gesturing her fingers in circles. **Great, Vivien was in a sharing mood.** He takes another draw of his cigarette and throws it across the patio.

“Was recently hospitalised, which was uhm... something. Larry is in England so I’m here myself. Just got offered a movie role though, so maybe that will come of something. Why haven’t you offered me anything recently?”

She trips and falls upon him, Ace catching her so that she doesn’t collapse. He is trying to help her find her footing as she clings onto his arms.

**Because you’re a fuckin’ liability.**

“You know how it goes Vivien. Not a lot of roles just now.”

“Yeah, that’s what everyone seems to keep saying to me,” she tightens her grip on him, running her hands up his arms, whilst he uncomfortably tries to retract from her without her falling over. **This is exactly what he does not need right now.**

“Is it because I’m no longer alluring?” **She’s trying to flirt. Why do they always do that like it’s going to get them an award winning role?**

“Vivien…,” he says warningly, as he tries to push her away, but her grip is firm.

“… Because Ernie has been with a lot of women in Hollywood and he tells me I’m very satisfying. Very attractive still.”

**Fucking Ernie. Has he fucked every woman in Hollywood?**

Just then he hears the French doors slam shut behind Vivien. He is finally able to extract her as she is also distracted by the sound. **Good. He didn’t need Vivien’s neuroticism right now.** Looking over Vivien’s shoulder, he sees Avis storming towards them. **Fucking great.**

“Having fun?” She shouts to them both angrily as she stands next to them.

“Avis…,” he starts, seeing the incensed look on her face. **She’s out for blood.** But he is interrupted. 

“Avis!” Vivien shouts attempting to greet her. However, Avis cuts her off.

“Excuse us, Vivien, but I need to speak to my HUSBAND,” she moves to take Ace’s hand and begins storming towards the house with him in tow.

“Why don’t you go find your husband, Vivien,” she shouts over her shoulder, but turns briefly still walking backwards, “or is he still in London to escape your episodes?”

She smirks angrily and turns back around, opening the patio door leading to the foyer, still not letting go of Ace’s hand.

**Jesus, that was cold. Even for her. She must be really pissed. She only hits that low when she is at a point of no return.**

_She knew she was being mean but there was no way she was putting up with this again. She would not be made a fool of again; be heart-broken again. He is put into one situation with her ex-lover and he thinks that’s a green light to be all over another woman seconds later. Did he have no self-control?_

“Avis…,” he tries to speak, pulling at her hand.

“Shut up!”

She shouts at him as she tries the handle of the bathroom door in the hall-way as she walks by it. _Locked. Dammit. She would need to go upstairs. There was no way she was embarrassing herself by doing this in front of other people._

**Where the hell was she taking him?**

She storms up the stairs, pulling him behind her. _She would try Dick’s room. Usually people didn’t find their way to bedrooms at these parties and if they did it was much later on. She doesn’t know how she is holding her tongue. She is so angry with him._

She storms into the bedroom and finds it empty, _thank god._ She walks in, throwing him by the hand into the room. When he enters, she slams the door behind them, locking it.

“What the hell was that about!?” She screams furiously across the room to him, throwing the purse she had forgotten she had been holding the whole time at him as he stands by the edge of the bed.

He dodges the purse as it hits the wall and looks to her as if she were demented. But he gives as good as he gets.

“What was THAT about? The question is what was THAT about with you and the silver fox, BABY?”

She scoffs, “ARE YOU KIDDING? If you stuck around for 30 seconds longer, you would see that he calls fucking everyone baby! It’s not specific to me! I’m not his fucking baby. But it’s not an excuse to cosy up to the basket case!”

She’s wildly throwing her hands around pointing to the doorway, breathing wildly. **She thinks he would fuck Vivien fucking Leigh? Not on his worst day!**

“Cosy up to that lunatic? Are you crazy? Do you want me to book you a room in the asylum next to her?”

Her eyes widen at the insult. 

“I wouldn’t touch her with a ten-foot pole. Gimme a fuckin’ break! She was falling around drunk, I caught her when she was falling, and she wouldn’t let me go.”

“Oh yeah? An original story! Fucking Best Picture nomination right there!” She is provoking him, and she knows it, but she feels hurt. _She can’t help it._

“It’s a true fucking story. She told me she was hospitalised; Larry was in London. She asked why I hadn’t asked her to be in any movies, like I would let that fuckin’ liability be anywhere near the studio!”

He was throwing his arms around as well, shouting in anger.

_Why does him insulting her make her feel better? Is he telling the truth? He sounds pretty convincing. It wasn’t far-fetched for Vivien to act that way. She was always off when she had had a drink and from the little she seen, Vivien was clearly drunk._

“Then she asked if she was no longer alluring when I rebuffed her because she said the Silver Fox still finds her alluring suggesting they have been at it. An image I REALLY didn’t need! Stupid cunt fucking every woman in Hollywood!”

She rolls her eyes, turning a little away, holding her hand to her head and then turning back to him.

_She’s sick of this. Of this jealousy. She doesn’t have the patience for it anymore, and it shows._

“Of course, he’s fucked loads of women, Ace! Men too. He’s literally paid to! Though I would take what she says with a pinch of salt. He told me he was more or less giving it up because he was having problems in that department. So, I don’t see how they could be…”

Ace smiles now, puts his hands in his pockets, looking pleased with himself.

“Wait, wait, wait. He can’t get it up?” **He struggled to get it up? HA!**

“Not really, no. It’s his age, he thinks,” she waves her hand to the side. _What did this matter?_

“Did he struggle to when he was with you?”

She watches his change in demeanour. H _e’s actually happy at the thought of that?_ She shakes her head at him, perplexed.

“Yes, he did in the last few times. Does that honestly make you feel better?” _What the fuck is it with men and virility?_

**He thinks for a moment. The guy can’t hardly get it up, especially not for Avis, and he is having a hard on almost every day for her… Able to fulfil her needs that the Silver Fox couldn’t?**

“Yes, it does actually, much better.”

She shakes her head at him, sick and tired of all this, moving over to sit on the end of the bed. He watches her, looks down to the floor and sees her purse. He bends to pick it up and throws it onto the bed next to her.

She looks over when she feels something hit the bed and leans over to grab her purse, pulling out the cigarette case and lighter, setting her purse aside once she pulls a cigarette from the case. He stands watching her, in silence.

 **He felt a little stupid now. Was it childish to be happy he was more dominant than this guy because the guy couldn’t get it up? But it meant Avis wouldn’t go back to him. What did she need to go to him for if he couldn’t satisfy her? Did he really think she would go back? Did the guy really call everyone baby?** He watches as she lights the cigarette, looking crestfallen.

“Did you know he was coming?”

She exhales the smoke, “no. I didn’t. I gave Ellen hell for it actually. She was the one who invited him. It looks like they are going to become a thing now.”

She takes another drag of the cigarette, still not looking at him. He raises his eyebrow. **He wants to feel her out. See if she cares for him.**

“Does that bother you?”

She scoffs and looks at him. _He really didn’t get it, did he?_

“Not even a little. If anything, I’m happy for them. They both deserve a little happiness. But I don’t give a shit who he fucks as long as it’s not you. And I don’t see that happening,” she laughs sardonically exhaling the smoke from the cigarette. She holds the cigarette out to him, offering it.

**He doesn’t know why that gives him relief. He believes her.**

He takes the cigarette and takes a draw, moving over to sit next to her.

“When are you going to believe that I don’t want him or any other man? That I only want you, even when you are being a complete fucking jackass.” She's direct, still angry as she talks, moving to take the cigarette back from his hand. He moves the cigarette back to his mouth before she can take it, raising his eyebrows, taking another draw before he hands it over.

“Probably when you realise that I don’t want any other woman, especially not Vivien fuckin’ Leigh.” _Touché. He had a point. They were both struggling with this. With their insecurities. She had just been as jealous as he was. She would have booted Vivien into the pool right then and there if she had seen anything worse._

She brings the cigarette back up to her mouth, inhaling.

“And I am not being a jackass,” he adds a moment later, watching her take a draw and exhale. 

“Really? Then what was that about with Dick?”

“We had words,” he says taking the cigarette back and taking a draw, standing to stamp it out in an ashtray on the bedside table as he realises it’s reached its end. _Does he think she’s a fucking idiot?_

She leans back on the bottom of the bed, resting on her forearm, turning onto her side to look to him.

“That much was obvious. What happened?”

He looks back over to her, standing at the side of the bed, begins fiddling with his tie.

“He thinks the same as you. That I am an idiot for making the business decision to pull the movie. He thinks it might be the making of the studio. Said all the movies recently have been shit. He thinks it’s a matter of time until the world goes to shit, and they start coming after us next, unless someone stands up to them. He recited a poem and everything to me. He said I should at least see the movie before I retract it.”

She looks down to her hands, her elbow still propping her up, and starts picking at her nails.

“He’s right. It’s everything I said to you before. We know how it feels. We are the ones who can make a difference. Make movies that matter.”

He takes a seat on the side of the bed, facing her.

“Yeah? And what do I do if everything goes to shit?”

“Ace, I really don’t think the studio is going to suffer for it. It’s a gut feeling but…”

“No Avis. I don’t mean the studio. I mean you. I mean Claire. What am I supposed to do if you come to harm or worse, and I did nothing to prevent it?”

He looks down at the bed. **He can feel himself becoming emotional, so much for virile.**

She can feel herself soften as she sees him worry. She pushes onto her elbow to sit up. She stands and walks around the bed to sit next to him, places a hand over his on his lap, and the other going to his cheek to pull his face up to look at her.

“Baby, nothing is going to happen to us,” she can feel him exhale strongly and look down again at his hands as she says this. _She saw a look of fear in his eyes earlier, but she thought it had been the studio, giving up his life. Not specifically her and Claire. She has such an overwhelming feeling to comfort him. To make it all better._

“What about the cross?” He is quiet, subdued, all the anger from before gone between them.

“That was a one off. Nothing has happened since. We have around the clock security. Look, I promise if anything else happens we can pull it immediately. We can go back to how things were before. But do me a favour? Just see the movie. Give it a chance before you make any big decisions?”

He sighs deeply, looks back up into her eyes.

“Please?”

She strokes her thumb against his cheek. He lifts his hand up to touch her wrist. **He doesn’t want to risk her. He doesn’t. But looking at her like this. The pleading look in her eyes. All the work she has done whilst he was in the hospital. What he has done to her over the years. He owes her.**

“Okay,” he whispers.

She smiles widely, “it will be worth it.” She leans forward to quickly peck his lips, catching him by surprise, sitting back again just as fast.

“I’m not promising anything,” he says pointing at her with the finger that had been stroking her wrist.

“I know. All I ask is for you to give it a chance,” she moves her hand from his cheek to clasp the one resting on his lap with both of hers.

“And if there is one more breach in security, it’s gone!”

She smiles again, “I will give the order myself!”

He gives a small smile, moving the hand that had been pointing at her over her hands. **It’s infectious, her happiness.**

He moves to give her a peck on the lips in return. **She really was beautiful, especially when she was happy and smiling.**

She lets go of his hand and leans her side back onto the bed again, crossing her leg over, leaning on her forearm, still looking up at him.

“So! Are you going to get over this thing with Ernie or do we need to go home?”

She’s looking at him teasingly. _Are you going to continue to be a child?_

He looks down at his lap. **He doesn’t know the answer to that. Just the thought of the guy makes him angry, no matter what she tells him.**

“I don’t want to leave yet,” he answers honestly.

She purses her lips, nodding.

“So, option one?”

She bounces her leg, kicking him to get his attention, smiling at him when he looks up.

He looks to her morose and shrugs, looking back to his lap. **He wishes he could just get over it.**

“Ace, we’ve been through this before,” she lies back on the bed fully now, her hands clasped on her stomach. Her legs hanging over the edge of the bed, lying on her back, she looks up at the ceiling. He watches her as she continues speaking.

“I know what it feels like. I need to be in the studio every day with Jeanne and it’s actually better the more you’re exposed to it. This might be exactly what you need. For you to see that the guy doesn’t make me swoon whenever I am in his presence. Think about it. If I wanted him, would I be up here lying on a bed with you, instead of him?”

**She has a point. If she wanted him, she could be fucking him in a bathroom right now… if he could get it up. And she had to put up with Jeanne at the studio every day. He could last one night with this guy. Look how easily he had got over the young guy… what was his name? Jack.**

She looks to him, leaning up on both elbows behind her now, seeing if what she’s saying is resonating. He looks straight at her when she sits up. She smiles at him cheekily, swiping her leg to the side again to kick at his leg. He smiles in return. _That’s the go ahead she needs._

She puts all her weight on the elbow furthest away from him and uses the one closest to reach out to grab at his tie. She pulls him forcefully towards her, a seductive smile on her lips, until he gets the hint and moves towards her to give her what she wants. He meets her lips tenderly, his hand going directly to her thigh, as hers moves instantly to his shoulder and around his neck. He pushes her back onto the bed until the elbow propping her up gives way, wrapping around his back. She’s pressed between him and the bed, his weight shifting onto her deliciously. She moans into his mouth as he deepens the kiss, slipping his hand simultaneously up the side of her thigh, under her dress.

_God, she loves it when he runs his hands across her thighs._

“I’m sorry,” he says moving away from her mouth, pecking twice at her lips when he has, resting his forehead against hers.

“For what?” Her eyes are still closed, breathing deeply from the kiss.

“For being jealous. For making it difficult.”

“I know how it is, baby. I know how hard it is,” she whispers opening her eyes, to look into his blue ones, bringing the hand from his neck to stroke his cheek soothingly again.

“You have no idea,” he says moving his hip against her thigh, gruffing loudly.

She moans feeling his length pressed against her, throwing her head further back into the bed, exposing her neck.

“And this is why I want no one else,” she says moving quickly to assault his mouth desperately. He responds furiously, moving his legs so that he can lie in between her open legs, pushing her further back onto the bed, never moving his mouth from hers. He moves the hand not up her dress, up her to side to her breast harshly, kneading at his target when he gets there. They are frantically kissing, moaning into each other’s mouths, grasping at every inch of each other’s bodies they are handling, and grinding against one another’s core, when there is a loud knock on the door, reminding them where they are.

“Who’s in there?!”

They hear Dick shouting on the other side of the door.

They both jump at the pounding, all ministrations ceased. However, he still lies between her legs, breathing heavily as he rests his forehead against hers when he comes down from the shock of the bang.

“It’s just me, Dick! I’m talking with Ace!”

There is a slight pause, where she kisses his mouth briefly again, before she hears Dick shout, “Okay. But hurry up, Tallulah won’t stop talking about you singing a number.”

She huffs, the air blowing onto his face and she moves her head from his, shifting it to the side.

“Okay!”

She closes her eyes and brings the hand that was on his shoulder up to her eyes, pulling it away after a squeeze at her eyes, looking back to him now. He’s grinning widely.

“A song?” _He is teasing her._

“Yeah, she always makes me sing a song at these things. Everyone usually takes a turn, but she is obsessed with me singing a number at every party. Never leaves me alone until I do.”

He smiles, pecking her lips again. However, she has the good sense to tap at his shoulders, signalling for him to get up, breaking the kiss before it can go any further.

He groans as he leans back onto his knees, eventually standing as she sits up in front of him, patting at the back of her hair. He holds a hand out to her, pulling her off the bed so she can stand. She moves her dress down to its original length after it has ridden up to her hips, brushing it down, ensuring there are no creases. He simply watches her. Fascinated at how she can recover so quickly. She bends over the bed to reach for her purse, **not helping his southern problem at all,** and pats at the bed sheets, straightening them before turning to look at him.

She laughs as she sees his mouth covered in lipstick.

“Come on into the bathroom, we need to wipe your face,” she says walking to the en suite attached to the bedroom. He follows as she goes immediately to the sink, placing her purse down, running the faucet, reaching for a towel, wetting it to turn to wipe at his face. He stands and allows her to do whatever she pleases, placing a hand on her waist, stroking his fingers against her back. _He needs to stop doing that or it’s going to drive her crazy._ **She’s so sultry in red especially.**

She smiles when it is removed, turning to face the sink, looking at herself in the mirror. Her lipstick wasn’t much better. She wets a clean piece of towel and wipes gently around the perimeter of her own lips. He stands behind her, watching the reflection, both his hands resting on both of her hips now. **She’s beautiful. So intricate. How is something so simple so stunning**. She moves to her purse and pulls out her lipstick, removing the cap and reapplying it delicately.

“You’re beautiful,” he says moving his head down to peck at her neck. She finishes the last part of the application and smiles at what she sees in the reflection, at what she feels around her. _She doesn’t know if it’s love or arousal. It may be both. But she doesn’t want him to ever stop touching her._

“I love you,” she says simply, still looking at the reflection, her hand still holding the open lipstick.

He looks up from her neck into the reflection also. **She loves me. It’s written all over her face. She wants me. She wants me to love her in return. And god does he want her.**

“I love you, babe. I want you, need you, always.”

_His voice. His declaration. The look in his eyes. It’s raw. It’s so plain. So smooth. So uncomplicated and transparent. He adores her, and she him. They love each other. They can be so obtuse, but they truly love each other._

She turns her head to him so she can kiss him. He moves forward to meet her half-way, but she hesitates at the last second, stopping him in his tracks.

“My lipstick. Gently,” she whispers, closing her eyes as she moves to peck his lips softly. Once. Twice. Her stomach flips. She retracts and he moves forward for a third. Fourth. She can feel his desperation in the grip of her waist moving around to her stomach, though his lips are so tender. _This was love._

She opens her eyes, pulling back from him. She laughs a little. _She was starting to realise how Ellen felt._ She twists the bottom of her lipstick, placing the top back on and into her purse as he continues his embrace around her, placing another kiss to her neck.

“Come on, darling,” she says bringing her palm up above her to his head, her other hand grabbing her purse. When he looks up at her reflection, she spins around to face him, putting her hand on his chest. He simply allows his hands to caress her as she moves in his touch.

“Let’s go downstairs,” she says as she brushes her hand across his collar bone and down his arm, letting go and beginning to move out of his embrace when she reaches his wrist. She leads the way out of the bathroom and then the bedroom, unlocking the door, as he dutifully follows her. **She has a sway in her step that she didn’t have earlier. God, he wants her.**

They are not shocked to see that the party has not changed in their absence. She reaches the bottom of the stairwell and pauses. He bends down to whisper in her ear, resting his hands on her shoulders.

“Do you want another drink?”

She smiles and turns her head to look at him, grinning wider.

“Obviously,” he answers for her rolling his eyes. “Wait here and I will get us one,” he looks ahead, kissing her temple and moves past her towards the kitchen.

He slips past a few people to enter the kitchen. It’s relatively crowded. **Of course it is, this is where the drinks are.**

He sees Ellen facing him, standing talking to Ernie who has his back to him and has thankfully not spotted him.

**Should he just turn around? No, he has to face this eventually. Maybe they won’t notice him. Ellen is looking pretty flirtatious though. He never thought he would see that. Least it will keep her distracted.**

He moves over to the counter behind Ernie to find Avis a drink. He looks at the selection of bottles there, collects a glass from the array set out on the counter.

“Ace?” He hears Ellen say, **no such luck.**

When he looks up, turning his head to face them, Ernie has turned around to look at him now, a winning smile on his smug face. **Be cool, Ace.**

He forces a smile at them both.

“Ellen,” he says nodding to her and then to Ernie, turning back to view the bottles.

“I don’t think you have been introduced; this is Ernie. He’s cast in the upcoming picture,” he can hear her voice is apprehensive. **Clearly, she was just as worried at him meeting Ernie as Avis is.**

“I’ve heard,” he forces another tight smile, nodding to Ernie.

“Good to meet ya,” Ernie says enthusiastically, holding his hand out for Ace to shake. Ace moves the glass he is holding into his left hand, so he can take Ernie’s with his dominant right. He shakes it solidly, nodding to Ernie again. **Speak, you idiot.**

“Ace,” he says, introducing himself, “but I’m sure you know who I am.”

Ernie laughs, retracting his hand, holding his drink up in cheers, “I’ve heard of course, but never been able to put a face to the name.”

Ernie brings the drink he’s holding up to take a large swig.

**The guy’s confident. So, he doesn’t remember meeting Ace then?**

“We’ve actually met before. Maybe ten years ago,” Ace says. **He can’t help himself.** “I came to your gas station once.”

“We have? Please excuse me, I don’t remember. A lot of people have passed through my gas station. I’m sure you’ve heard all about it,” Ernie retorts still smiling enthusiastically. Ellen looks worriedly between them.

**So, they weren’t going to pretend his gas station isn’t a glorified knocking shop. Good. He didn’t want to pretend. He always preferred being direct.**

“Uhm, I will be back in a minute,” Ellen says nervously, excusing herself.

Ernie steps back, smiling at her flirtatiously, which she returns nervously. He places his hand on her waist as she squeezes by him to make her way to the foyer.

Ernie looks back to Ace smiling, taking another swig of his drink.

“Can we talk outside?” Ernie suggests kindly.

Ace gestures with his hand, inviting Ernie to lead the way. Ernie moves through the back door leading from the kitchen to the side of the house. Ace follows him apprehensively.

**Where is this leading to? He is trying to size up if he could take him if it came down to it. Ace was a lot brawnier, but this guy was clearly fitter and a little taller. But the guy did have a drink in him, Ace was sober. No, he couldn’t do this. It wouldn’t help the situation with Avis. She didn’t want Ernie. She wanted him. He had to remember that.**

When he gets outside, Ernie pulls out a cigarette case offering him one. **He doesn’t want one, but he’s not going to refuse.** He takes one allowing Ernie to offer him a light. When they both inhale and exhale, the silence has become deafening.

“I just wanted to apologise to you,” Ernie starts.

**Wow, curve ball. Wasn’t expecting that.**

“I know that Avis told you about us and the nature of our arrangement. She told me that you two made it up and I’m really happy for you both. I just wanted to let you know that there was never anything between us apart from… you know… But I can imagine that doesn’t make you feel any better.”

He takes another draw of his cigarette, and absentmindedly continues, “I was married, she passed away. Only woman I ever loved. I can’t imagine how I would feel if I were in your position... Well I can. Pretty fuckin’ pissed. Would probably kick the livin’ shit out of me if I were you, not give me a part in a movie.”

Ace stood listening to him. **He had had a wife? So, he had never loved Avis?** **It was annoying how this guy was starting to sound more like a human.**

“But I just wanted to let you know seriously, she was really broken when she came to me. Was pretty devastated over the two of you.”

“Yeah, I know that. She told me all about it. We talked it all out,” he responds awkwardly. **He wasn’t going to have this guy tell him about his wife, his relationship.**

“Yeah, she told me. I’m really glad you both did. She cried for the first year, you know? Only talked about you and how much she wanted you. Even made me pretend to be you, my first acting job!” He laughs heartily. **Ace can’t find it in him to laugh. He has heard it from her, but to hear it from this guy made him feel even worse.** Ernie taking another draw of his cigarette.

“She stopped after a while, didn’t want to think or talk about it ever. We never did after that first year. It’s pretty typical with women who miss their husbands I’ve found. There has been loads of them over the years and they all spend a long time upset, but Avis…”

Ernie sees Ace glaring at nothing behind him, taking continuous draws of his cigarette.

“If this is too much and you want me to stop just say the word?”

Ace brings his attention back to Ernie and clears his throat and tosses the cigarette onto the ground, “no, go on.”

Ernie nods, “Avis, she, uhm, it took her longer than most of the women to get over it. She truly loves you. She was so excited to tell me you both made it up. You can see the difference in her at the studio. She’s happier. Not just because she has a purpose there, but because she knows she has you to love and love her back. Women, I’ve realised, they are simple when you realise all they want is to love and be loved. They want to desire and be desired. That’s what I tell the boys at the gas station, we sell the fantasy for the small time we are with them. Men, however, they are different… they…”

“Okay! You can stop there. I don’t need to hear about anyone but Avis,” he says lifting his hands. **He wasn’t against all that. Half of Hollywood swung that way, but he didn’t, and he didn’t need to hear about it.**

“Look, I just wanted to tell you that I understand you probably want to punch my lights out every time you see me; many a husband has successfully done so. But she wants you. Only you. Anyone can see that. And I? I don’t want, Avis.”

There is another pause, Ernie takes a sip of his drink now.

“And don’t tell her I told you all this. I offered to talk to you a few times recently and in the past, but she didn’t want me to. But I’m a guy, who had a wife he adored, and I understand you probably had to hear this.”

Ace nods, taking in what he has said. **He knew it all. She had told him it herself. But it did make a difference hearing it from him. Here the guy was putting himself at risk of a beating to make him feel better about the whole situation so that him and Avis could live happily ever after. Why did the guy have to be so annoyingly decent? How was this guy successfully starting to make him feel better about the whole thing?**

“Can I ask you something?”

Ernie puffs at his cigarette, “sure.”

“Why do you do it?” **He’s genuinely curious. Why would anyone choose to get the shit kicked out of them by husbands?**

Ernie shrugs, “I came to Hollywood to be a movie star and it didn’t work out. I got a job to tide me over. I got offered, mainly by men, to do that kind of work and it made me a lot of money. I realised I could make a business out of it. Especially with men, it was high in demand because they live in the shadows, ya know? The female clientele is actually very small, surprisingly. I suppose they are generally more faithful. But then I realised that so many of them just wanted someone to talk to. A lot of the time you don’t even do anything but let them cry on your shoulder. But money, is the short answer. I would rather be in movies,” he laughs heartily, taking a final draw of his cigarette and tossing it across the patio.

Ace nods, his hands in his pockets considering what Ernie has said. **Pretty hard life. Losing your wife, falling into a business like that. However, it’s Hollywood. He’s heard of worse. Knows plenty of people who go to those. Has hired plenty of people who have worked as one.**

They both look around when they hear the back door open. Avis comes out looking worried. **Shit, he was supposed to be getting her drink.**

_Well they weren’t in a brawl, so that was something._

“Hi, I was looking for you,” she says moving over to Ace and putting her arm around his waist, looking to Ernie with her eyes bulging at him, as Ace puts an arm around her shoulders, squeezing tightly.

“Sorry, I got caught up in conversation,” he says smiling briefly to Ernie and looking down at her.

“Yeah well, I will leave you both to it. Did you see Ellen on your travels?” Ernie asks Avis as he walks towards the door.

_Well yeah, Ellen had warned her that they had sparked up a conversation._

“Uhm… I think she was looking for Dick.”

He smiles widely, making a move to the backdoor of the house.

“What is going on with you two?” She asks him, rubbing her hand across Ace’s back.

He turns around to look at them.

“Who knows? Maybe love,” he says and winks at her.

“Love?” She splutters, “never thought I would hear you say that!”

He holds his hands out and pats his chest, “Never thought I would be saying it!”

He smiles again and moves through the door, closing it behind him.

She turns her head to him, stretching her neck up to look at him, continuing the rubbing of his back and placing the other hand on his arm.

“What was that about?”

“We got talking. He told me how he got into his… business,” he says nonchalant. **The guy had done the courtesy of putting his mind at rest, he wanted to at least try and keep the secret he had been asked to.**

She is aghast. _Had they had a normal conversation. You could knock her down with a feather. She never would have ever expected this. He was calling Ernie a cunt 20 minutes ago._

“No, really Ace. What did he say?”

She turns now to fully to stand in front of him, still looking up at him worriedly. His hands instinctively move around her waist, as she places her hands on his upper arms, rubbing her hands from shoulder to elbow to encourage him.

**He wasn’t going to lie.**

“He told me how happy he was for us. That he could see how happy you were now that we were back together. That I’m all you ever wanted.”

She smiles, remaining silent for a moment. She looks down to his chest, moving her hands to his tie, fiddling with it embarrassed.

“Well that’s true,” she whispers.

He squeezes her body closer to him, motivating her to look up at him. He leans down to kiss her lovingly. The kiss is pure and doesn’t last long. _But it’s one of the best she has ever had._

She laughs, moving her hands back to his arms.

“I can’t believe you had a conversation with him without a boxing contest. I’m truly astounded,” she smiles at him teasingly.

“As much as it pains me to say it, he’s actually pretty decent,” he says nodding, still looking down at her.

She winces after he says it, “did that sting? Having to admit that?”

She laughs heartily at his shocked expression, moving her hands up around his neck, stroking her fingers against his soft skin there.

“More than you know,” he laughs lightly.

She moves a finger from his neck and trails it up his chin, across his moustache and down to his lips. He pecks her finger when it passes his lips for a third time. He watches her eyes as she follows the pattern of her finger.

**She’s so innocent when she is like this. So open. He thinks of what Ernie had said. About how she had cried over him for so long and how much he had hurt her. She really had missed him. He missed this too.**

“I really missed you, you know?”

He doesn’t realise he’s saying it out loud until he feels her cease the movement of her finger, her face becoming softer, her eyes filling a little.

“Having you back now has made me realise how much I missed this then. How much I wanted you then. Thank you, for everything,” he says leaning down to press his forehead to hers as she closes her eyes, throwing her arms back around his neck, pulling him to her tighter.

_She needed to hear this. She was becoming more used to it. She felt as though her heart were set to burst with her love for him. How absolutely exquisitely beautiful was it to feel loved? There was no feeling like it. She feels that she can’t talk. She doesn’t want to ruin the perfection of this moment of them simply embracing each other. Connecting. This was exactly the evening she wanted, had pleaded for, for so many years._

Tallulah, however, is able to ruin it instead.

“AVIS! DAHLING!”

They hear the shout from around the corner, across the garden.

**Fuck off, Tallulah.**

She opens her eyes, smiling at him, extracting the touch of her forehead from his.

“You better go sing your song…” He says moving away from her, slipping his hands from her waist, as she dropped hers from his neck.

“I will get you a drink and bring it in,” he says as she nods and turns around to walk away.

“Look out for me! Make sure no one insists on an encore!” She shouts over her shoulder to him, laughing as she makes her way around the garden to Tallulah.

He hears her shouting as he opens the door to the kitchen.

“Yes, I’m coming Tallulah! Jesus!”

“WELL AVIS, WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN? I’VE BEEN-“

He enters the kitchen, finally able to get that drink. He looks to the bottles and picks out one he knows she will like, picking a glass up again to pour it. He sets it on the counter, looking around for a Cola. He realises it may be in the refrigerator, moving over to it and opening it, finding the Cola and moving the cap off quickly.

He hears the record player turn off, the chatter of people taking over, as the kitchen clears and Tallulah is heard shushing everyone. He quickly grabs Avis’s drink from the counter and moves into the living area. He uses his height to look over several heads, hearing someone running their keys over the piano in the room, her humming a little to warm up. **Was she trained enough to know she had to warm up?** He moves from side to side to see if he can get to her to pass her the drink. But the room is packed, there is no way he is getting across it.

He finally sees her standing there across the room, a vision in red. She is talking to Dick who is sitting at the piano. He assumes they are discussing what she will sing as she holds her reading glasses in front of her face, looking over Dick’s shoulder at sheets of paper he is moving around in front of him.

He is able to move past a few people so that he is pressed behind the back of a sofa across the room. He sees Ellen sitting on the opposite facing sofa with Ernie, with Avis standing directly behind them at the piano. He tries to get Ellen’s attention by waving. Eventually when she sees him, he gestures the drink in his hand, pointing to Avis, wanting her to reach to give Avis it. Ellen takes the hint and stands. He gestures to a young guy sitting on the sofa he is stood against and asks him to pass it to Ellen. She takes it, leaning across the coffee table smiling, and turns to tap Avis on the shoulder. Avis swings around quickly to Ellen, removing the glasses from being held up in front of her. He can’t make out what they are saying, but she eventually looks up to him after Ellen points behind her. She takes the drink and holds it up, gesturing to him and mouthing, “Thank you”, winking at him, and smiling seductively before taking a drink and sitting it on the piano. She moves quickly back to Dick to discuss the music.

“What you going to sing, Avis?” Someone shouts.

“You doing a Garland number like last time?” Someone else shouts.

“No dahling!” Tallulah wagers in, “she can do better than Somewhere over the goddamned rainbow!”

**He didn’t realise this was such an expected event.**

Avis doesn’t pay attention to the shouts coming behind her. He sees that her and Dick have finally come to a conclusion about what she is singing, though she doesn’t look to keen. Dick twinkles his hands across the keys, slamming them a few times to get everyone’s attention **.**

He smiles, taking a sip of his Cola. Looking around the room at all the people ceasing their conversations to give their attention to her. **He is in awe, as is everyone else it seems**.

Tallulah, with a front and centre seat, stands drunkenly and shushes everyone again as Avis reaches for her drink, taking another sip. Only when she has silence, does Tallulah sit back down and gesture for Avis to continue. 

Avis smiles and addresses everyone.

“Okay, so Dick wants me to sing this song he has just discovered. He’s sure it’s going to be a hit. I’ve only heard it the once and you likely won’t have at all, but we are going to go give it a go, and if it’s shit, I will try another one,” she laughs heartily, as the room joins in earnestly with her.

Dick runs his hands down the keys, starting a very slow tempo tune.

Avis faces the room, looking to the sheet music in her hand, through the glasses she is holding up in front of her face with the other hand, attempting to follow the music, waiting for her cue to start singing. **He didn’t know she could read sheet music so well that she could sing a song she has hardly heard. He definitely doesn’t recognise the tune anyway.**

When she starts to sing, he is blown away. **Her voice is so powerful and yet so soft.** **He had heard her singing here and there, but never when she was really, really trying. It was pretty amazing.**

**_“I can only give you love that lasts forever  
And the promise to be near each time you call  
And the only heart I own, for you and you alone, _ **

**_that's all, that's all.”_ **

He watches as she focuses on the sheet of paper, looking up every so often at the room, gesturing. Turning her wrist here, smiling brighter there, but mainly focussing on the music.

**_  
“I can only give you country walks in springtime  
And a hand to hold, when leaves begin to fall.  
And a love whose burning light, will warm the winter night,”_ **

When she finishes this lyric, she looks up and looks at him directly, giving him the brightest smile.

**_“that's all, that's all.”_ **

He smiles back encouragingly, winking at her, earning an even bigger smile in return.

_  
**“There are those I am sure who have told you,  
They will give you the world for a toy,”** _

As she sings these lyrics she looks to him again, more solemnly, then diverts her attention to the rest of the room, smiling weakly. Looking back to her page, she looks to the lyrics. 

_  
**“All I ask for these arms to enfold you,** _

**_and a love, time can never destroy.”_ **

She looks around the room again as she sings the lyrics, finishing this time looking at him, smiling slightly as she moves back down to look at the lyrics.

_  
**“If you're wond'ring what I'm asking in return, dear”** _

She looks up to him again, looking directly into his eyes so he knows this song is for him. **He can feel his heart beating wildly. He can hear the emotion in her singing.**

She looks down briefly, taking the lyrics in and returning her gaze directly to him to sing the next lyrics to him.

_  
**“You'll be glad to know that my demands are small,”** _

****

When she belts out the next line, she throws her head back, filling the room with her perfect voice. _  
 **“Say it's me that you'll adore,”**_

**He is truly in awe**. She opens her eyes again to look to him again to sing the final two lines.

**_“for now, and ever more,_ **

**_that's all, that's all.”_ **

The room roars when the last key is touched but he hears nothing. He eyes are locked with hers as she looks at him heatedly. He is breathing deeply, emotion rushing his whole body. **He was so in love with her. He had never had someone sing a song to him before ever, and it was beautiful. She was magnificent.**

He can’t move, he’s stunned. Can feel his eyes welling up. She moves her hand up to her pearls, touching them. **He knows this is her way of gesturing she loves him without being obvious to the room.** He moves his hand up to his heart, exhaling strongly as he smiles at her. Their moment is interrupted by Tallulah plunging onto Avis, embracing her.

The sound in the room comes back.

Whistles, cheers, and clapping surround them.

“YOU WERE MAGNIFICENT, DAHLING!” Tallulah shouts, “Wasn’t she fabulous!”

He wipes his eyes briefly, clapping his hand against the back of his hand holding the Cola. He watches her as she stands smiling, taking a dramatic bow.

“Sing another song!” Someone shouts.

“Way to go, Avis!” Someone else shouts.

She grabs her drink quickly, moving to the French doors so she isn’t forced to sing another song.

“No, no, no! One’s enough! Someone else can take a turn! Tallulah, why don’t you sing one,” she says hand on the door handle, pushing it down, and opening the door.

“ANY DAY OF THE WEEK!” Tallulah shouts, propping herself up onto the piano, lying on her side, posing dramatically.

He realises she is trying to escape outside. He pushes past people at the entrance to the living room, making his way to the French doors in the hallway attached to the foyer, leading outside to her. **He realises he’s rushing. He has no idea why.**

He swings the door open and looks around the garden, however, before he can look from one side to another, she pounces on him. She wraps her arms around his neck pulling him down into a fierce kiss. He throws his glass bottle of Cola to the side, hearing it smash and roll on the patio. **He doesn’t give a shit.**

He wraps his arms around her waist, lifting her to his height, placing a hand under her bottom to support her, returning her kiss with passion. He moves her in a circle and presses her up against a wall, her legs wrapping around the back of his thighs to the best of her ability in a tight dress. 

They only draw-back when they are panting for breath.

“Was that for me?” He heaves out, whispering, his nose brushing hers.

“Yeah,” is all she can manage.

He kisses her amorously again; she returns it with vigour. _She needs him._

She runs her hands all over the back of his head, neck, shoulders, as he moves his other hand from her waist to below her bottom so her can hold her easier against the wall.

She withdraws again for breath, moaning as he moves to her neck.

“Take me home,” she moans into his ear, biting at his lobe, still gasping.

He pulls back and looks at her lustfully.

“Gladly.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1\. Vivien Leigh gets it tight in this fic. She is a victim of this fic because I needed someone for him to flirt with, but also I only portrayed her as a bit of a basket case because of how she is portrayed in Hollywood. I don't know anything about her so everything is made up. 
> 
> 2\. The song is "That's All". I like the Frank Sinatra version and I imagine LuPone would actually make a lovely recording of it, so that's the version I'm going for here. It is a 1952 song written by Alan Brandt with music by Bob Haymes, made famous by Nat King Cole. 
> 
> 3\. Thanks for sticking with this. It's been a rough week in quarantine so it took me a while to get this out.


	20. Just a little longer?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Pure fluff in this chapter

She smiles back at him earnestly as he moves away from her, setting her down on the ground. She looks up at him again and realises she has covered him in lipstick again.

“Either we need to stop doing this or I’m going to have to give up lipstick,” she laughs as she begins stroking her thumb across his lips to remove the residue.

He smiles, allowing her to do whatever she pleases.

When she finishes, she moves her fingers to her own lips, wiping around the perimeter. She looks up at him for an assessment.

“Is it everywhere?”

He smiles and moves his thumb up to get one mark at the side of her mouth,

“nah, you’re fine. Are you ready to go?”

“Yeah, I just need to go and get my purse and our coats,” she says beginning to slip by him to the French doors leading to the living room as he follows dutifully. As she begins to open the door she hears and sees that Tallulah is still belting out a number, half the room cheering her on. She slips in trying to grab her purse off the piano where she had left it unnoticed. _The last thing she needs is Tallulah trying to force her into another song._

She slips by towards the sofa Ellen and Ernie are still perched on, deep in conversation with Camille sitting next to them talking over the back of the sofa to Claire, Jack, Raymond, Rock, and Archie in a cluster behind the sofa. She looks behind her briefly to make sure Ace is still there, he smiles in response and places a hand on her waist, encouraging her to continue.

She slides up behind Claire, grabbing her waist, leaning over her shoulder to talk into her ear. _The room is so loud._ Claire looks behind her immediately when she feels someone hovering over her, relieved it is just her mother.

“Daddy and I are going to head home!” She practically shouts into Claire’s ear. _God, Tallulah was really going for it._

“Oh! So soon?”

“Yeah! Have a good time! Don’t stay out too late!”

When Claire nods, she takes this as an opportunity to squeeze by her to tab Ellen on the shoulder, as Ace offers Claire a farewell also. Avis leans down to Ellen’s ear also.

“We are going to head off!”

However, Ellen is not as agreeable.

“No! You’ve hardly even been here! You disappeared half the night!”

“I know, it’s a long story,” she says rolling her eyes.

“Just stay a little longer! You don’t know when we will have this opportunity again! I haven’t even had a chance to chat with you.” She insists as Ernie leans over to insert his two cents.

“Stay, for god sake! Take a load off for once!”

_Well she was having a good time. She enjoyed socialising with people and Ace on top form alongside her was even better. There would plenty of time for her and Ace when they got home. What would the difference of another hour make?_

She holds her index finger up to Ellen and Ernie, signalling for them to give her a minute. She turns around to Ace to see if he has heard anything. He has; she can tell by his raised eyebrow. She cocks an eyebrow in return, stretching up to his ear so he can hear her.

“What do you think? You want to just a little longer? You haven’t seen anyone but me I so long.”

She pulls back to look at his face. It’s his turn to lean into her ear.

“Whatever you want to do. We have plenty of time to continue what we started when we get home.”

She pulls back again, smiling at him. _She was so glad they are in sync._ She reaches up again to peck his lips briefly, quickly swinging back around to Ellen, nodding. Ellen smiles back in delight and tries to look around for somewhere for them to sit.

Camille, having watched the whole exchange out the side of her eye quickly pipes up. 

“Here, take my seat!”

“Oh, no, no! We will find somewhere.”

However, Camille is already standing and moving around her.

“Thank you,” she smiles at the girl.

“Ace, this is Camille. She’s the lead actress in Meg,” she says gesturing to Camille.

Ace smiles kindly, taking the girls hand to shake it.

**He’s trying to place the girl. She was there on the day he had his heart attack and he’s pretty sure he’s seen her in a couple of movies as the maid. He approved her contract for those roles. She was a pretty girl.**

“Pleased to meet you.”

“Likewise, Mr Amberg,” she smiles widely, removing her hand and moving towards the younger group behind them.

**And she’s pretty eloquent. Maybe it could work.**

Avis turns around smiling at Ace and turns around to the room behind her.

“Oh! Raymond! Archie! Rock!”

Her shouts to them, draw everyone’s attention out of their conversation with the small group.

“This is Raymond, the director of Meg. Archie, the writer, and Rock, here, has a nice part in the movie. One of Henry Willson’s,” she says raising her eyebrows at Ace.

Ace shakes each of their hands in turn.

“I think I’ve met you all before?”

Archie scratches his neck, looking anywhere but Ace’s eyes.

“Yes, Mr Amberg.”

“Not you though, ehm…,” he gestures towards Rock.

“Rock Hudson, sir.”

Avis’s attention is taken away from their exchange by Ellen touching her forearm. She gestures for Avis to come and sit next to her to dish the dirt.

She moves quickly over to the seat Camille had given up.

“Can I get you gals another drink?”

“Yeah, the usual,” Ellen offers.

“Yeah Ernie, vodka martini,” she smiles at him as he gets up and manoeuvres over to the living room entrance, gesturing to Ace for a drink on the way. Avis instantly raises an eyebrow at Ellen, with a knowing smile.

“The usual,” she says giving a fake girly laugh. “Make your move,” Avis teases as she draws out every syllable slowly, pointing at Ellen.

“Oh, shut up! So, what happened? I mean I got Ernie’s account. It went well?”

Avis laughs heartily and leans in closer to Ellen so that no one else can hear their conversation.

“Yeah, he said they just talked. He asked him about his business and how he got into it. Then Ernie had told him that it was Ace I was after all these years, yadda, yadda, yadda. I’m just shocked that it didn’t end in a fight if I’m honest!”

“You see, you get yourself worked up over nothing! I told you it would be fine!”

Avis pulls her head back and rolls her eyes, looking back over her shoulder at Ace who is deep in a conversation with Raymond and Archie, hand gestures going wild.

“I think the Yankees have a chance! They are on their way to winning the league! Did you hear the game the other day?” She smiles. _Baseball. Of course, he would get into a conversation about baseball. Poor boys._

“But Jackie Robinson in the Dodgers! That guy is something else!” Raymond chimes in enthusiastically.

_Oh, or he’s actually found his people._

She is brought back to her own conversation when she hears Ellen again.

“So, did he say anything about what happened with him and Dick? Dick told me he wasn’t keen…”

“He’s agreed to wait to see it. Half Dick’s influence, half mine, I think. He’s going to at least give it a chance.”

“Oh!” Ellen gives a huge sigh of relief. “That’s great!”

“Yeah, so fingers crossed. They think he might be back on Monday. So, if they could have something together by that point, I think it could convince him. I will need to speak to Dick about it.”

Ellen smiles but catches Vivien walking drunkenly across the living room, bumping into people, not speaking to them.

“And what happened with Vivien? Ernie said she has been off. Apparently, she had an exchange with you in the garden?”

Ellen raises her eyebrow at Avis, knowingly.

_Shit. She had been harsh._

“Well! I went out to get Ace after you both DITCHED me, and she was all over Ace. I saw red. So, I stormed out and dragged him away. Took him upstairs to have it out.”

Ellen smiles, nodding at her. “Uhu… so why would she be upset?”

Avis is nonchalant, “because I told her to go find her husband, but then reminded her he’s hiding in London to escape her episodes.”

“Oh, Avis,” Ellen says shaking her head and bringing her hand up to her head.

“Well Ellen! She was making a move on my husband! What would you expect?!”

She is shouting in hushed tones so that no one can hear her defence.

Ellen smiles as she removes her hand.

“So typical of you, Avis. So, what happened? Did he welcome her advances?”

Avis is more subdued now.

“He said he didn’t. Said she was being a basket case and that he wouldn’t touch her with a ten-foot pole. Apparently, she was asking him about why he hadn’t offered her any roles recently and thought seduction was the way to get one.”

Ellen rolls her eyes, “typical. Why do actresses always do that? Use your talent to get a role god-dammit.”

Avis nods to her, forcefully throwing her hands in the air, “I know.”

“Do you believe him?”

Avis stops and thinks for a moment.

“Yeah, I do. He said she’s a liability and actually seemed quite offended I would ever suggest it. So…” She shrugs her shoulders.

“Well that’s good! It’s progress!” Ellen smiles at her widely, patting her hand twice on Avis’s.

“Yeah,” Avis smiles weakly. “We are both struggling with the second thoughts of trusting each other but it will grow with time. But, honestly…”

Avis looks around both her left and right shoulder to ensure no one is listening.

“The thing that is convincing both of us, well I can only speak for myself, so me more than anything is the constant lust,” she says pulling away and raising her eyebrows.

“Really? Is he allowed to with… you know… the heart attack?”

“No, no! We aren’t doing everything. But there is everything leading up to it… And it’s constant Ellen. We can’t get enough of each other. It’s more or less every day, day and night. It’s like we are teenagers or honeymooners.”

“That’s good! You always were driven that way…” Ellen smiles at her encouragingly.

“Yeah, but I didn’t think it would be like this. After twenty years of marriage! Do you know what I mean?”

“Yeah, but it’s not after twenty years of marriage, is it? It’s been ten years since you have been together properly. So, it would be like starting again or as if he went off to prison and you were reuniting,” Ellen finishes laughing.

_Ellen. Always the wisest soul in the room. That’s exactly what it was like. No wonder they couldn’t keep their hands off each other. It had been so long._

Avis laughs heartily at the imagery, “yeah… I suppose it is.”

Ernie comes back over holding an array of drinks for them on a tray. They all take their drinks in turn, Ace reaching over Avis’s head to grab his Cola. She looks up at him over her head and then over her shoulder smiling at him. He winks at her and returns to his conversation, now joined by Camille, Claire, and Jack.

When she turns back to Ellen and Ernie, she sees them whispering and giggling to one another.

_Great, now she’s a third wheel._

She looks behind her to see listen in on the conversation Ace was having. It was like he had six excited children around him for a bedside story.

“So, Mr Amberg, who was the best star you have ever worked with?” Camille asks excitedly.

“Oh, my only favourites are the money makers,” he laughs heartily as they join in excitedly. _It must be exciting for young kids like that to speak to the head of a studio. He had so many stories he could tell them about the numerous actors, actresses, scandals, that have passed through the studio. It must be enthralling to them. He is also in his element; being the centre of their attention._

“No, I’m kidding. Uhm… Bing Crosby was pretty great. Great pipes. Ingrid Bergman, Bette Davis. Absolute professionals and talented women. Bob Hope is always a scream. There are too many to mention,” he laughs heartily again before taking a swig of his Cola.

“Is it true that there was a sordidly inappropriate recording of Joan Crawford?” Claire asks her father.

“I couldn’t possibly say. Joan is a well-respected actress in this industry,” he raises himself to full height as they all give disappointed looks.

However, he nods slightly with a smile on his face as they all start sniggering.

“I told you!” Claire shouts to Jack.

“And what about Charlie Chaplin? I’ve heard he’s a bit of a…” Raymond falters on the final word.

“Sleazeball? Yeah. He has a thing for the younger girls, won’t shut up about it.”

They all start discussing it between themselves as he notices that Dick is moving from the piano across from him, trying to get past Tallulah who is currently straddling a young guy. **He has apologising to do. Dick had been a long-time friend who had given his heart and soul to the studio. His judgements had never been wrong in the past and he deserved some credit. Most of the time the guy practically ran the studio in his absence.**

“Dick!” he shouts when he sees Dick finally squeeze past Tallulah. He excuses himself from the group and moves over to Dick. Dick has stopped, staring at him with a blank expression. **Okay, so he was clearly still angry.**

“Look, you were right. I shouldn’t be making any decisions without at least seeing the movie. I will at least watch it first before I make a decision. But I’m not promising anything. I should be back on Monday so if you can try have something together by then I would like to see it.”

Dick still is expressionless, not very impressed.

“Great,” he says sarcastically, turning to walk away.

“Dick!”

Dick stops in his tracks again and looks back at him, almost irritated.

“Just so you know, I agree with everything you do. Everything you said back there, about how we could be next. You’re right. It’s why I had the reaction I did. I know that we could be next, I’ve always known that. I don’t want anything to happen to any of us. To Avis. To Claire. It scares me that it could. I’ve always been taught to keep my head down my whole life, so it’s hard to change that mindset in the space of a couple of hours.”

Dick gives a small smile, can see the genuineness in Ace. He understands and smacks his hand against Ace’s arm to let him know he does.

“All right, all right. I will try and get something together for you fully. It’s more or less done anyway.”

Ace smiles back at him, thankful that he doesn’t have to divulge any more of his past than he already had.

“I’m going for a drink; do you want one?”

Ace holds up his bottle of Cola, “I’m good.”

Dick claps him on the arm one more time and squeezes by people to get to the kitchen, turning the radio back on, on the way.

Ace looks around the room, watching all the people talking, laughing, even kissing if you consider Tallulah… a little bit too provocatively if you asked him. At least he and Avis had the good grace to not be in public when they became heated.

He spots Avis then, laughing and talking with Ellen and Ernie. He walks over to them to join the conversation. He slips past the group of youngsters to stand behind her at the sofa, touching a hand to her shoulder.

She stops listening for a second to look up to see who had touched her, seeing it was him, she touches his hand and returns back to the conversation. Once Ellen turns her attention briefly to Ernie sitting behind her, she turns to him.

“Having a good time?” She asks him, stroking his hand.

“Yeah, just had a word with Dick. He’s going to have something ready to show me on Monday if I get the go ahead to go back.”

_Well that’s a job off her list. They really were going to work great together._

She looks around to see if there is somewhere for him to sit.

“Can’t we pull up a chair or something?”

He looks around also, “nah, they are all taken.”

She looks back up at him, “you really shouldn’t be standing for so long when you’re still recovering.”

“I’m all right,” he says stroking her hand back and smiling.

She looks down at the sofa they are sitting on to see if he can fit. _No, there was no way. But she had an idea._

“Come around here,” she says letting go of his hand and rising to stand.

“I’m not going to take your seat,” he says standing still.

“You won’t be,” she says reaching for his hand and pulling him over. He moves around the perimeter of the sofa, until finally he is next to her.

“All right, sit down,” she says as he obediently does so.

She moves to sit on his knee sideways, facing towards Ellen and Ernie, wrapping her arm around his neck and grasping his shoulder until she settles. He adjusts his legs so she can sit more comfortably, wrapping his arm around her waist and settling his hand on her hip.

She looks around to him smiling, “see that wasn’t so hard. Now we both have a seat.”

He smiles and kisses the underside of her jaw as she closes her eyes, grinning widely.

“Ever the pragmatist,” he mumbles as he moves peck up to her ear.

“Just don’t start moving around or it really will become hard,” he laughs as he pulls back to look at her.

She laughs heartily, stroking her fingers against his neck, leaning in to kiss him soundly on the lips.

“We wouldn’t want that,” she says as she draws back, still grinning, quirking her eyebrows as he exhales deeply.

She looks up past his head and sees Claire standing behind him looking at them, eyes bulging. She lifts her hand and gestures, swiping her hand across her throat. ‘Cut it out’, she mouths.

Avis laughs again and looks around to see if anyone else has noticed. If anyone is shocked at the sudden change in their behaviour, they don’t say or make it clear. That is until she looks around at Ellen and Ernie.

Ellen raises an eyebrow, smiling knowingly. Ernie smiles happily for her.

‘Make your move,” Ellen mouths, pointing at her.

She leans over swiping towards Ellen, only brushing her knee as she laughs. Ace exhales deeply at her moving around, grasping her waist tighter.

She looks around at him when she feels his grip, “sorry.”

She turns her attention back towards Ellen and Ernie.

“So, when are you two going to make it?”

Avis says looking at them, grinning.

“Avis!” Ellen shouts embarrassed as Ernie laughs heartily holding his drink up to her for her bluntness.

They sit and talk for over an hour. She sits on his lap laughing heartily most of the time as they discuss Hollywood and all the stories they have all collected on it over the years, as she scratches her nails against his neck, and he strokes her hip. She is handed several drinks by various people throughout that hour, draining them happily. He notices she is moving progressively from tipsy into drunk. **He doesn’t have the heart to stop her for his sake to drive them home. He can drive or they can get a lift from someone or a cab.**

Ellen, Ernie, and Avis are eventually finding absolutely everything hilarious, likely from the alcohol, he supposes. Dick joins them eventually as well, just as drunk. However, when Avis tries to place her glass on the coffee table, dropping it onto the floor and then turns back towards him looking at him seductively, he knows it’s time to leave. Before he is able to suggest it, she pulls his face to hers, kissing him wantonly. **In front of everyone.** **He had forgotten what a flirt Avis Amberg can be when she is drunk.**

“I can’t wait to get you home,” she says clearly when she draws back, her eyes heavy. She throws her head back, laughing heartily at his shocked expression. **Had she thought she was being quiet when she said that, because he was sure that everyone within a five-foot radius had heard, including their daughter.**

“I think that’s where we should head now,” he says smiling at her. **He was glad she was like this and not the drunken, mean Avis he had seen in the past few years. He was enjoying it.**

She leans in and kisses him again.

“Just can’t wait, can you?” She says seductively again against his mouth. **God, she was testing him.**

He taps her hip twice, signalling for her to get up off his knee.

“We are going to shoot off now. I’m getting tired,” he says to Ernie and Ellen.

They raise an eyebrow at him knowingly.

“Yeah, okay, Ace,” Ellen says, turning her attention back to Ernie who is whispering in her ear.

“Okay, honey. Up you get,” he says to Avis who is giggling happily. She rises into a standing position. When he follows her, standing, he can see she isn’t so easy on her feet. She turns and throws her hands around his neck, reaching to kiss him again.

“I think we are going to head off as well,” Ernie says also, beginning to stand with Ellen.

Ace is reaching for Avis’s hands around his neck, trying to stop her advances and turn her around, whilst also nodding to Ernie to acknowledge what he had said. Avis continues to giggle, turning around as he directs her. Ellen passes the purse to Avis that she had almost forgotten.

“You’re an angel, Ellen,” Avis smiles widely, closing her eyes, trapping her tongue between her teeth, and giggling again.

Ellen raises her eyebrows at Ace, laughing.

He eventually moves Avis over to the foyer area, thankful that the room had cleared out a little as everyone made their way to different parts of the house. Ellen, Ernie, and Dick follow them out.

“I will get your coats,” Dick says moving down the corridor to a closet.

Avis is still giggling, running into Claire now.

“Baby! Look at my baby! She’s so big now! So beautiful!” Avis says grasping a shocked Claire into an embrace, stroking her hair. Jack looks on worried. He had experienced a drunken Avis, but he had never seen her so merry.

Ace rolls his eyes and moves up behind Avis, placing his hands on her shoulders, as Dick approaches behind them with coats.

“Come on, Avis. Need to get your coat on,” he says moving his hands down her arms to take them away from Claire. Claire looks at him with bulging eyes, tapping her mother on the back. Avis eventually let’s go, stroking Claire’s face as she removes her hands, moving backward into Ace. She moves towards Dick as he holds out her coat.

Ace looks to Claire, letting out a deep sigh.

“We are leaving, do you want a lift home?”

Claire looks awkwardly back to Jack and then down to her hands, “no, I think I’m going to stay a little longer.”

“Don’t worry, Sir. I will drive her home,” he innocently smiles behind her.

“See that you do,” he says, kissing her cheek and turning back to Dick to collect his coat from his arm. He watches as Dick struggles with Avis getting her hands into the arms of the coat, not knowing what to do with her purse. Eventually when she gets it on, she turns around and embraces Dick.

Ace rolls his eyes, laughing as he puts on his own overcoat.

“You are the greatest. I couldn’t have done it all without you,” he hears Avis saying to Dick, as he watches Dick laugh and pat her back.

“It’s all you,” Dick says as he pulls her back from him, holding her upper arms. “You’ve done an amazing job!”

She smiles, becoming teary, and moves to kiss his cheek, hugging him again.

Ace moves over to her again, touching her shoulders to move her away.

“All right, Avis. Come on, we have to go,” he says extracting her away again as she smiles, stumbling a little.

When she turns around and faces him, she smiles even greater.

However, at this rate they are never going to get out of here. He ignores her adoring smile and moves to her purse, opening it so he can get the car keys. However, as he closes the purse, she drops it so she can move over to Ellen. He fumbles to catch the purse just in time.

“Ellen! My absolute sweetheart!”

Ellen smiles and opens her arms to her, receiving Avis’s embrace. **She’s obviously just as drunk.**

He can hear them mumbling to each other as they embrace.

“No, you’re the best,” he hears Ellen responding.

“You’re always there for me. You deserve so much happiness. You need to go for it with him,” he hears Avis slur. He looks to Ernie who is simply laughing, putting his own overcoat on.

Ellen smiles and pulls back from the hug, but Avis pulls her in tighter again, whispering into her ear.

“Take him home and fuck him senseless. You won’t regret it.”

Ace can hear a slight whisper but can’t make out what she is saying. However, it’s obviously inappropriate as Ellen pulls back, laughing shouting, “Avis!” once again.

Avis simply starts laughing heartily again, taking Ellen’s shoulders and shaking her fiercely in jest.

“Come on, Avis. Let’s go,” Ace tries to remind her.

She turns her head to look at him seductively, still holding Ellen’s shoulders.

“All right. Someone’s eager,” she says looking at him, running her tongue between her teeth, looking him up and down. She turns back to Ellen who’s trying not to chuckle as Ace shakes his head.

“Bye, darling,” she moves to kiss both of Ellen’s cheeks. She moves towards Ernie kissing his cheek as Ace moves towards Ellen, repeating Avis’s gesture.

He turns to see Avis smiling kindly at Ernie as she withdraws from him. **Okay, okay. It was getting easier. She was saying goodbye to him, just like he was to Ellen. There was nothing there.**

For once he doesn’t need to chase her as she turns towards him, walking sultrily toward him.

“Let’s go,” she says leaning up to kiss him squarely on the mouth, moaning as she makes contact with him. She withdraws quickly and moves through the already open door towards the street.

“TO THE AUTOMOBILE!” She shouts in the street.

He looks around at Ellen and then Ernie, who both smile at him as he coughs and gestures to the door before he follows her out, still holding her purse.

He watches as she stumbles down the walkway. She has reached the sidewalk by the time he catches up with her. She turns around when she hears him, smiling and wrapping her arm around his waist, as he places his around her shoulders, still holding the keys in his hand.

“Oh! Where is my purse?”

He smiles as she looks around the ground as though she dropped it. He lifts his other hand and holds it up to her. She smiles and takes it from his hands, opening it, riffling through as she stumbles onto the road. Luckily, he is there to look for any incoming cars. He sees her becoming more frantic as she riffles through the purse.

“I can’t find the keys,” she says, mumbling into her purse.

“I’ve got them here,” he says taking his arm from around her, holding them in the air.

She smiles and moves to take them, but he pulls his hand back quickly, looking at her as if she is crazy.

“You really don’t think you’re gonna drive us, do you?”

“Ace, you’re not allowed to drive,” she looks at him pointedly, bringing a hand up to her hip, slurring her words.

“I’m in a better state than you to drive,” he says laughing, opening the passenger door for her.

She looks at him incredulously, “what state am I in, Ace?”

_She isn’t that drunk._

He smiles, moving closer to her, bending down until he is eye level as she stands staunchly.

“You’re drunk,” he says laughing as he pecks her lips.

She smiles at his playfulness.

“I am not. Maybe tipsy,” she says relaxing her stance.

“Still more tipsy than me, so get in,” he says backing towards the car again and gesturing for her to enter. She huffs and moves towards the car.

“Fine, but you better be careful,” she says getting into the car as he closes the door.

“yeah, yeah, yeah,” he says as he walks around the car.

He enters the car himself, turning on the engine and adjusting the mirrors, as she adjusts the radio, the noise crackling until she changes it to an upbeat song. She smiles, dancing along in her seat as she reaches into her purse taking out her cigarette case and lighter. He begins moving the car down the street. **He had missed driving. He has always loved it. Just feeling the breeze pass through him, being in control of something. He loves driving.**

She balances the cigarette in her mouth as she tries to light it. However, the unlit cigarette drops to her lap. She moves slowly to grab it and put it back in her mouth. _Maybe she was tipsier than she thought._

She moves the lighter to light the cigarette again, however, every time she gets close to a light, it is blown out by the breeze from the cars open top. After a few attempts she gets impatient

“Can you stop the car for a minute so I can get a light?”

She mumbles it as the cigarette remains in her mouth, one hand on the lighter, the other trying to protect the light from the wind. He laughs and pulls to the side of the street to allow her to light it. Finally, she does, taking a huge draw, throwing her head back and exhaling a huge puff of smoke above her.

“Better?” He asks still laughing, pulling the car out again to continue the journey.

“Oh, yeah,” she says, hearing the beat of the song again as she bobs her head from side to side, humming along.

“I love this song,” she says sliding across the seat to put her arm around the back of him to play with the hair at the nape of his neck, taking another draw of her cigarette.

“Oh yeah, what song is it?” He moves his hand across her legs, resting on the outside of her far away thigh.

“I have no idea,” she says as she leans to kiss his shoulder.

He laughs, shaking his head. **She was something else.**

When she looks back at him, she takes another puff and then raises the cigarette in front of his mouth, offering him a draw. He leans forward, wrapping his lips around it, taking a draw and exhaling.

Her eyes close again as she listens to the song, her head lolling back as she feels the cool breeze against her neck, and his hand caressing her unfortunately clothed thigh. 

She takes another draw of the cigarette, offering him another. After he obliges she moves her hand up to flick it over his head onto the street next to him, it flying behind them immediately. She finally notices all the lights coming from the bars, restaurants, theatres, and clubs on Sunset Boulevard. _It’s really pretty._

She looks back to him smiling, kisses his neck as she moves her now free hand to his thigh.

He reacts immediately to her touches, trying to focus on the road.

“Baby…” he says warningly.

This, however, does not stop her from peppering his neck with kisses, and the caresses her hand is supplying.

“Mhm,” she mumbles into his neck, intensifying her kisses on his neck, her hand moving to his crotch.

“Honey, if you continue that I’m going to end up crashing this car,” he says laughing as he pulls his head away from her, grabbing her hand with the one he had settled on her thigh, moving their now clasped hands back over to her lap.

She pulls back pouting, looking at him hurt.

“Don’t you want…?”

He chances a glance at her, seeing the look in her eye.

“Of course, babe. Just not when your touch is distracting me from driving. I would rather get you home in one piece so I can give you my full attention.”

As he finishes speaking, he stops at a red light. He takes the opportunity to turn and look at her to kiss her soundly on the mouth, pulling back smiling, watching as her eyes remain closed, her pout still as if she is being kissed. She still sits there, continuing to stroke the back of his neck. He laughs, seeing the light is now green, moving forward again.

“C’mere,” he says, letting go of her hand and swinging his arm around the back of her so she can cuddle into him. She places her head on his collar bone and moves her arm from behind him to curl between them, her free hand moving up to clasp his hand around her back. He can hear and feel her sigh into his body, physically relaxing. After only a few minutes, he can hear her breathing become even. **She’s asleep. No wonder with the amount she has put away tonight.**

He continues to drive the remainder of the journey just listening to the music on the radio and her even breathing, until he pulls in front of their home. He turns the engine off and leans his head to look at her. **She’s sound asleep.** **How the hell was he going to get her into the house. There was no way he could carry her; not in his current state. He didn’t want to have to wake her, but he has to.**

“Avis? Avis, honey,” he starts gently.

She mumbles into his chest, settling in further, bringing his arm further around her.

“Avis, you need to wake up. Just for a few minutes,” he says patting a hand on her thigh.

She moves her head up, opening her eyes with a start and then screwing them up, looking extremely sleepy.

“We’re home already?” She asks looking around.

He moves his arm from around the back of her and moves out of his side of the car, around to hers getting her door as she grabs her purse, moving towards the door. Her eyes are still closed as she moves, when she gets to the door, she leans back against the seat, closes her eyes again for a second, sitting still. **Is she falling back asleep?**

“Come on, honey,” he says moving a hand to hers to jerk her towards him. She awakes with a start again.

“Mhm,” she says as she moves a foot out of the car to hit the ground. When she is eventually out the car, she leans against it, closing her eyes again. He closes it and laughs at her. **She really was out of it.**

He moves over to her, taking her purse from her hand, and wrapping an arm around her shoulders, causing her to pep up again, following his footsteps up to the front door. She stumbles, leaning against him like this the whole way through the house to the bedroom. The stairs having been the trickiest part, but luckily, she had been able to grasp the handrail. When they get into the bedroom, he watches as she sits on the bed, falling back immediately. He laughs at the sight before him. **So much for a night of passion.**

He closes the bedroom door, moving over to her, tapping her knee, turning on the lamp on her bedside table.

“Come on, let’s get you in a nightdress and you can get back to sleep.”

She merely moans in protest. So, he takes the opportunity to take off his overcoat, throwing it on the chaise lounge and moves over to her dresser to grab a nightdress. When he turns back, he’s shocked to see her sitting up, moving her arms out of her fur coat. **He’s glad this wasn’t going to be a completely uphill battle.**

She keeps her eyes closed, moving to take her earrings off, her necklace, her bracelet, and takes the pin out of her hat, jabbing it back into the hat once it’s removed. As she takes off each item, she throws it onto the bed, whilst she kicks her shoes off, dropping them on the floor at her bedside. He moves over to her, sitting the nightdress onto the bed and picking up the various jewellery pieces and hat, she had left there. He walks over to the vanity, not knowing where to place them so dumps them all down. **She can put them where they belong tomorrow.**

When he turns back around, she has moved different pins from her hair; throwing the pins on the bedside table as different parts of her hair tumble down, eyes still closed. **How is she doing all that half asleep and drunk?**

Finally, when the pins are out, she stands, stumbling a little. He moves over to her to make sure she doesn’t fall. He takes the opportunity to grab the fur coat from behind her, throwing it over to the chaise lounge at the end of the bed. When he looks back to her, she is looking up at him smiling. She moves under his arms to give him a tight hug, her head to the side, cheek pressed against his chest, breathing deeply. He moves his arms over her shoulders, hugging back.

“I’m tired,” he hears her mumble into his chest.

“I know. Won’t be long now,” he says, undoing the clasp at the top of her dress and moving the zip downward until it reaches its end. She moves her arms from around him to let the arms of the dress fall down to her hands as he pulls at the sleeves. She moves the front of the dress down the front of her, pushing the dress at her waist in one motion so it falls to the ground.

She sits back down, moving towards her stocking clips as though it were natural, whilst he takes in the same black corselette he had seen her in earlier. **She is truly gorgeous. He should be ripping that off her right now and kissing her everywhere his lips will allow, but he can’t think like that or it would distract him from the end goal.**

He moves to sit next to her, to the stocking clip she isn’t fighting with, and moves to unclip it expertly, rolling the silk nude stocking down her leg and collecting it from the floor. He stands up in front of her again, watching her push the stocking down her thigh and then swinging her foot onto her knee to pull the stocking off from the bottom, throwing it onto the bedside table. She stands, undoing the clasps of her corselette, revealing the skin of her body bit by bit as she moves downwards. He distracts himself by picking up her night gown and bunching it up so he can throw it over her head when she is ready. When she finally undoes all of the hooks, she whips the rest of it down to the ground, kicking it off her foot and stands back up in front of him completely nude, her eyes still closed from sleepiness.

He moves over to her, for once thinking how cute she looks instead of how provocative, and whips the strappy nightgown over her head, allowing her to move her hands into the arm holes before pulling the rest down over her. He knows she usually takes her makeup off but there is no way he’s going to tackle that tonight, so he reaches behind her and pulls back the covers as she finally sits back and swings her legs in, hugging into her silk pillow, sighing heavily.

He finds he is sighing deeply too. That was a work-out in itself. He picks up all the things she has left strewn across the floor and places them on the chaise lounge. He moves to the bathroom, getting her a glass of water and putting it on the bedside table for her. **She was definitely going to need that at some point**.

He moves back over to his own dresser and removes a set of pyjamas, making quick work of undressing and slipping into them as quietly as possible so as not to disturb her.

Finally, he can get to bed himself. He moves across the room to turn off the lamp on her side of the bed and then back around to crawl under the covers himself. He lies on his back giving a deep sigh.

**Well it wasn’t the end of the night he had been hoping before, but it had still been a good night. He was shocked at the events of today. So much information to process. So many curve balls. Meg, Ernie, Vivien, the song.**

**But they were right, he should at least give the picture a chance before shitting all over it. And he was glad to just spend a nice evening with her. With her singing to him, sitting on his knee, jesting with their friends, laughing and talking, you would never have thought they had been apart for ten whole years. It had been a great night.**

He hears Avis begin to stir, moaning in her sleep. She turns over from facing away from him towards him and moves closer, throwing her arm over his stomach as she cosies further into her pillow. He moves his hand up to hers, clasping it to his chest.

 **Yeah, it had been a great night.**


	21. Sweetest Hangover

Avis wakes through the night with her head buried in her pillow. She begins stirring, feeling dizzy as she lies still, stomach aching, and her mouth dry.

She opens her eyes to a dark room, feeling completely disoriented as she raises her head to look around. _What the hell happened?_

She hears Ace breathing heavily, though steadily. She can’t quite adjust her eyes to see him. Unable to hold her heavy head up any longer, she plants her head back into her pillow, groaning as she feels her head swelling and her full bladder needing relieved. _She doesn’t want to get up. She doesn’t know if she can even if she wants to._

She sighs into her pillow finally pushing up to attempt to remove herself from the bed. Her head is lolling as she sits on the side of the bed, eyes still closed. She opens them briefly, looking down. _How did she get into this nightgown?_ She finally makes out the glass of water on the bedside table. _She doubts she put it there, it must have been Ace. WHAT A PRINCE!_ She picks up the water, taking two big gulps, sighing into the room after. _That hit the spot._

She groans as she gets up, stumbling to the bathroom, grasping for the light switch several times before she finally gets it. She winces at the light invading her eyes, taking a moment to adjust to it. She falls a little into the sink, still unstable on her feet. She graps onto the sink to steady herself, catching her reflection in the mirror; makeup smeared all over her face. _For god sake._ She looks at the time, still wincing at the light and her face. _4.10am._ _It was still early._

As she leaves the bathroom, she reaches for the light, accidentally kicking the frame of the door in the process. She shouts out, trying to cover her mouth so as not to wake Ace. _JESUS CHRIST, THAT FUCKING HURT!_ She growls under her breath, aggressively turning the light off. As she moves back towards the bed, she listens to see if he is still asleep. She hears his regular breathing as she climbs onto the bed. _She doesn’t think a hurricane flying through this room would wake him._

As she settles back down, her head begins to spin again. _She is probably still drunk; the sickness is beginning to feel overwhelming. If she just goes back to sleep, she will be fine._ She turns her head to look at the back of Ace who is turned away from her; hearing him groaning in his sleep. _He must have put her to sleep and got her changed last night. Poor baby. He was a sweetheart. She would need to make it up to him._ She feels an overwhelming feeling of adoration for him, smiling to herself. She turns around and moves over closer to him, wrapping her arm around him as she cuddles into his back, feeling more settled than ever before. _She always felt vulnerable when the come down from being drunk kicked in but having him here to cuddle brought a security she didn’t even know she needed._ She hears him hum in his sleep, immersing in her presence and grasping the hand at his stomach, curling it into his body. _She wonders if he is awake,_ until she hears his even breathing continue. She smiles, embracing his back, her nose brushing his shoulder blade as she nods back off to sleep herself.

***

When he wakes, he can feel her wrapped around him from behind. He hugs her closer into him, listening and hearing her deep breathing next to his ear behind him. He smiles and raises onto his elbow a little, seeing that the light is starting to enter through the curtains. He looks down to the hand wrapped around him and twitches her hand a little to see the watch on her wrist to look at the time. **7.40. Tom would be here soon. He has just enough time to get up for a quick shower and have breakfast before Tom arrives.**

He moves her hand off his stomach and places it behind him, finally moving around a little to steal a glance at her. **She is passed out, not even flinching at being moved. No wonder. She was going to suffer today.** He laughs at the thought of her last night, as he sits up on the bed, giving a huge huff and running his hands over his eyes. He goes to the dresser to withdraw swimming shorts and a polo top so he can quickly get to the bathroom for a shower.

After a quick shower and shave, he grabs some painkillers from the medicine cabinet. **She was going to need it when she wakes.** He leaves the bathroom and looks to her sprawled across the whole bed on her back. **How can someone so small take up such a big bed.** He chuckles a little as he moves to put the painkillers on her bedside table, laughing at her inelegant position. As he turns, tip toeing slowly towards the doorway, he hears her groaning behind him.

“Where are you going?”

He smiles turning back towards her, “going to grab some breakfast before Tom gets here. He will be here soon.”

Her hand is sprawled across her forehead, one eye open looking at him.

“Mmmm okay,” she says closing her eyes again.

He smiles, “how are you feeling?”

She doesn’t open her eyes to answer, “like shit. What the fuck happened last night?”

He laughs heartily, walking towards the side of the bed, perching on its edge, “you got very, very drunk.”

She lets out a loud moan as she turns towards him, more into her pillow, reaching her arm out towards him, falling short of his knee. She doesn't attempt to reach him again, remaining still. _All she did was turn on her side, how did that make her feel sick? Her head was pounding. How much had she drank?_

He smiles, putting his hand on hers, and reaching with his other hand for the painkillers.

“Here,” he says opening her hand and putting the painkillers into it with the other, “take these.”

She opens her eyes, looking at what was in her hand, gasping, and moaning, “I love you.”

He laughs, moving to pick up the glass of water as she leans up onto her elbow, throwing the painkillers into the back of her mouth. She takes the glass of water from him, washing them down, and handing the glass back to him. As he stands, moving to the bathroom to fill the glass back up with water, she falls back into the pillows, closing her eyes again.

She opens them when she hears him re-enter, watching him put the glass back onto the bedside table.

“Thank you, darling,” she says pulling the covers back up to her chin.

“Do you want me to ask Gertie to bring you up some food or tea?”

She bokes a little at the thought, “god, no! I’m going to go back to sleep for a while.”

He laughs at her reaction and leans down to give a brief kiss to her forehead, retracting back quickly. She smiles happily, humming at his touch, as he pulls away. _If this was how life was now, let it go on forever._

“I’ll see you later then,” he says backing towards the door, as she moves her hand to grab the pillow he had been sleeping on to pull to her chest.

“G’night,” she says turning onto her side, hugging into the pillow, inhaling his scent, and sighing heavily.

He laughs as he closes the door behind him, making his way downstairs.

***

She wakes up a few hours later, feeling just as shitty. She looks to her watch again. _10.45._ She looks up to the room with bleary eyes, dropping back into the pillow.

She is trying to remember the night before. _She remembered Vivien, speaking to Ace upstairs, and him agreeing to watch the movie. And that he spoke to Ernie, that she sang a song to him, and oh god when they had ended outside pressed up a wall. Then they had decided to stay longer, and she was speaking with Ernie and Ellen; they had been getting cosy. She ended up on Ace’s knee and they were all talking. Then what? She couldn’t really remember. She remembers hugging Dick, she thinks. Lots of lights from bars or something on a street. Jesus, what happened? Since Ace was busy, only one person could fill in the blanks._

She shuffles over towards the edge of the bed and reaches up for the telephone. Her head was still pounding. _God knows how bad it would have been without those painkillers._ She finally gets the telephone off the receiver, hearing it’s dial tone. She takes a moment to rest and gives a deep breath before reaching up to scroll in the numbers to the rotary. When she finally manages it, she falls back onto her back, closing her eyes as it rings.

“Hello?” _Fucking finally._

“Ellen? What the fuck happened last night?”

She hears shushing down the phone and a laugh in the background. _Was someone there? Nah, she must have been hearing things. Ellen would never make such a bold move in taking Ernie home, she was too pure for this world._

“You got drunk, Avis,” Ellen responds laughing.

_Why is that all the information everyone is giving her?_

“Yeah, I know! I remember up until chatting with you, Ernie, and Ace, sitting on his knee. But I don’t really remember getting home,” she brings a hand up to the bridge of her nose, squeezing it.

“Ehm… well…”

_What the hell was wrong with Ellen? She sounds nervous._

“Ellen?”

“Sorry, uhm… you started getting frisky with Ace and he decided to take you home. I’m assuming to bed you.”

_To bed me? Had she had sex with him last night? She would surely remember that?_

“Then you got all gushy with Dick and then with me. Surprising for you, you’re usually a terror. Then you flew out into the night, Ace following you.”

“And he let me drive home?” She almost shouts into the receiver.

“No! No! He drove. We left just after you.”

“We?” Avis’s voice raising, her eyes flew open, not believing what she was hearing.

“Yeah…” She could hear how embarrassed Ellen sounded.

“You didn’t!” She squealed into the phone, her head pounding at her excitement.

“Avis, goddammit, you told me to!” Ellen shouts incredulously into the telephone.

She starts laughing heartily. _Drunk Avis clearly gives good advice._

“How was it? Like riding a bicycle, eh?”

“Yeah, well…”

“Wait… is he still there?!” She shouts, still laughing.

She hears the phone becoming muffled and whispers in the background. She frowns, straining to try and hear.

Suddenly she hears Ernie’s voice.

“Yeah, he is Avis. We are hanging up now!” She hears Ellen shouting at Ernie warningly in the background and then a dial tone. _Had he just hung up on her._ She looks at the telephone and puts it back onto the hook, moving back onto the pillow.

_Ellen Kincaid, you dark horse! Haha! Good for her. About time she got some. She now had to find out if she had. It didn’t feel like she had. She would surely be aching in a different way if she had._

She throws the covers off, looking around her now there is light. She sees her clothes neatly on the chaise lounge, her heels carefully placed at the end of the bed, her jewellery and hat on the vanity. _Well either they didn’t, or he tidied up this morning because there was no way she would have been that tidy drunk and in throes of passion._

She stands, moving to the bathroom to relieve herself again. She again catches her face in the reflection as she washes her hands. _She was a riot._ She takes the opportunity to wash her face, so she is at least presentable when she goes downstairs. _Her hair isn’t so bad, but it could use a little brushing._ She takes a few more painkillers out of the cabinet, moving to the bedroom as she throws them in her mouth, picking up the glass of water and downing them. She picks up her burgundy satin dressing gown, tying around her waist as she moves to the vanity. She sits and immediately picks up her brush, quickly running it through her hair. _The motions are making her headache worse. She honestly took it too far, but she had been having a good time. She hadn’t even realised how much she had drunk._ When she pins a few curls at the top of her hair, she looks up, straining her eyes at the sun still. She stands up, pushing herself up by pressing her hands on the vanity hard. She looks down and sees her sunglasses. _They would come in handy_. She puts them on as she leaves the bedroom, dressing gown billowing as she descends the stairs.

She moves to the dining room, Gertie making herself known immediately.

“Good morning, Mrs Amberg,” Gertie smiles.

“Good morning, Gertie,” Avis says automatically acknowledging her, moving to the French doors, looking outside to see if she can spot Ace.

“What can I get you this morning?” Gertie asks. _If Gertie thinks it unusual that she is wearing sunglasses, she doesn’t make it clear._

“Oh, uhm… just the usual Gertie. Lots of tea would be great,” she turns to smile at the woman briefly.

Gertie smiles and walks directly into the kitchen. Avis opens the French doors, walking out feeling the air hit her alongside the heat. She winces at the sun light, trying to look around. _It really was a beautiful day._

She stands from afar, watching Ace as he swims from one side of the pool to another. She hears Tom shouting, “that’s it, Ace. Only five more laps!”

Ace splutters in the water to acknowledge him, continuing his swimming at a good pace. She smiles, _so glad that he seems to be coming on so well. Surely, he will get a good report from the doctor tomorrow, considering where he had been only a few weeks ago._

_She considers going over to say hi, however, with her current state and his busyness, she thinks it best not to disturb him. Opting to go back inside._

She nibbles at her food slowly, sipping her tea and removing her sunglasses to scan the newspaper that Gertie provides for her. At one point she looks around her, taking in the sun shining into the living room. _She thinks she will sit out in the sun today. Tomorrow could be strenuous. Sitting in the sunshine could help this hangover she is suffering and give her some peace._

When she goes upstairs, after she has tidied all of her clothes away, she decides a shower is the best step on the road to feeling better today first and foremost. She jumps in, donning her shower cap to protect her hair. As soon as she gets out, she sets about pinning her hair up properly, putting on her make-up and then opting for a thin white summer dress. She loves this dress. White linen, V-neck, short sleeves, coming in nicely at the waist and flowing outward; perfecting for a piping hot day. She forgoes all her usual tight underwear also. _Anything constricting her would make her feel sick_ , so she decides to try this new fashion of a brassiere and silk panties. She doesn’t think she would feel comfortable with them full-time but they are good for situations such as this. She forgoes stockings also, _maybe she would get a nice little tan_. By the time she grabs her book, donning her sunglasses, and heads downstairs to go outside, she runs into Ace and Tom having lunch at the table on the patio.

“Good afternoon!” She shouts announcing herself.

A very wet Ace, now with his polo top on continues to chew his food, blustering for a napkin to dab his mouth before jumping up to greet her as she finally reaches him. Tom sits smiling as Ace kisses her lips briefly, a hand on her hip.

“Avis, this is Tom. Tom, this is my wife, Avis,” he gestures, as she holds her hand out to shake his. Ace smiles, still standing, waiting for her to walk around the table to the empty chair, before he sits down after her.

“I’ve heard a lot about you, Tom,” she says smiling towards him, placing her book on the table.

“Likewise, Mrs Amberg,” he smiles, continuing to eat the food in front of him.

“Mrs Amberg,” she hears Gertie behind her, “can I get you something?”

“Ehm… a lemonade would be great, Gertie, thank you,” she smiles and returns her attention back to the table when Gertie nods and walks away.

“How are you feeling, babe?” Ace directs his question to Avis.

“Oh, just fine. I saw you both out here earlier, and saw the sun and thought I would like a piece of it. You looked like you were getting on really well,” she smiles at him, watching as he continues to eat, nodding at what she is saying.

“Oh, he is Mrs Amberg. He’s coming on leaps and bounds,” Tom tells her enthusiastically.

“I’m glad,” she says smiling towards Ace, bringing her hand up to touch his forearm. Gertie appears behind her with a glass of lemonade. Avis smiles and thanks her, turning her attention back to the conversation.

“So, you think I have a chance for Saul to give me the green light to go back to the studio tomorrow?” Ace finishes his food, pushing the plate away, and bringing the napkin up to his mouth before throwing it onto the plate.

“I don’t see why not,” Tom shrugs, “as long as you take it easy, continue with your diet and exercise.”

Ace nods, “I’m not going to lie, this diet is getting boring. What I would give for a nice steak.”

Avis furrows her eyebrows, “but that’s not going to happen. We can maybe think of things to jazz it up, but we are following the doctor’s orders.” She is pretty firm with him, but it’s not up for question.

He rolls his eyes, but Tom steps in, pushing his plate away and dapping his mouth with his napkin.

“She’s right, Ace. This is pretty serious. Falling back off the wagon will just lead to another heart attack.”

“Thank you!” She says to Tom for the support and looks to Ace sternly.

He simply raises his eyebrows, shrugging. _Was he not taking this seriously? She wanted to argue it out with him, but she wasn’t going to do that in front of a stranger._

“What’s your plans for today?” He asks her to try to change the subject.

She narrows her eyes, “sit on a lounger, enjoy the sun, and read my book.”

“Sounds like the life!” Tom laughs, smiling to Avis.

“Yes, well I rarely get time away from being the head of a MAJOR studio, so I take my relaxation where I can,” she shoots back to Tom with a sweetly smile.

Ace sees this and realising where it’s going, quickly moving to change the subject again, “uhm… Tom’s from Chicago. He’s treated some pretty big guys... uhm… Franklin Roosevelt!” **He knew this would spark a conversation.**

“Oh! So, you know Eleanor?”

“Yeah, brilliant woman. Very kind,” he says smiling.

“Yes, she’s pretty extraordinary,” Avis says agreeing, smiling widely as she takes a drink of her lemonade. **Maybe not.**

“You ready to get back to it, Ace?” Tom says, moving his chair back and standing.

“Yeah, just give me a minute. I will get you over there,” he says as the guy nods and walks over to the pool.

He watches Tom walk out of earshot before he speaks again.

“Are you okay?”

“Yeah, had a bit of a headache but I had something to eat and took some more pain killers,” she says picking a piece of lint of her skirt.

Ace nods, eying her up and down.

“You look beautiful in that dress. Very angelic,” he smiles at her flirtatiously.

She smiles and reaches for her lemonade.

“Why thank you,” she says before taking a sip of the drink and placing it back down.

“You don’t mind if I sit by the pool to read whilst you do your swimming, do you?” She asks tentatively.

“Nah, not at all,” he says looking towards Tom who is standing awkwardly by the pool, waiting for him. “Well, I had better get back to it.”

He stands, pushing himself up using the arms of the chair. She stands with him, collecting both her glass and her book, following him towards the pool. She settles on a lounger, placing the glass on the nearby table whilst she slips her shoes off and settles back into the seat. She watches as he stands talking to Tom, whilst Tom gestures some exercises with his hands, and twisting every now and then. She takes a sip of her lemonade again and picks up her book, opening it to where she has left off.

Before she begins, she looks over the top of her book towards him, catching him taking off his polo top, preparing his entry to the pool.

She can’t help herself; she pulls her fingers up to her mouth, wolf whistling loudly at him, grinning widely when he looks over.

He smiles and saunters towards her, throwing his polo top at her. She laughs, catching it with one hand when he does so, throwing it onto the lounger next to her. She watches as he gets into the pool, Tom standing on the side lines gesturing the exercises he wants Ace to do as he copies them.

She begins reading, immediately being transported back into the world on the Orient Express and Hercule Poirot’s investigation. She very rarely looks up, though when she does she watches as he moves between laps, exercise, or taking a break, talking to Tom at the edge of the pool. Gertie kindly comes out every so often with a top of a drink, even bringing her cigarette case and lighter out; anticipating Avis’s every need. She doesn’t realise that a good few hours pass, until it’s 3pm and Tom is bidding her a farewell whilst Ace moves over to her to sit on the opposite lounger.

“How was that?” She asks folding the book over onto her lap to keep its place whilst turning her attention to him.

“Fine,” he says nodding, lying back on the lounger, “we did a bit more than we did yesterday, so it’s growing better every day.”

“Good. I’m happy you feel like you’re strengthening,” she says, watching as he closes his eyes to look up to the sun, nodding at her.

“It’s beautiful out today, isn’t it?” He takes in a big breath of fresh air.

“Yeah, very hot though. I think I’ve got a little bit of a tan. I will go and dip my legs in the water in a minute, I’m getting warm,” she says looking to her arms and then to the water, not noticing he has turned to look at her mischievously.

When she eventually looks back at him, she sees his look.

“No, I’m not getting in there so don’t even think about it,” she laughs.

He laughs, closing his eyes again, and tilting his head back up to face the sun.

“You still feeling hungover?” He asks not looking to her.

“It’s getting better. What the hell happened last night? I phoned Ellen and she told me basically nothing. Although guess who woke up in her bed with her this morning?”

“Ernie,” he says plainly.

“Well, yeah. What happened with me though? Ellen said I was getting frisky, you took me home to bed me, I was sappy with Dick then her and then I flew off into the night, but I don’t remember anything past some chatter after sitting on your knee,” she looks to him quizzically.

He was surprised Ellen remembered that much considering she too was drunk.

“Well, you drank a lot whilst we were chatting with Ellen, Dick, and Ernie. Ernie and Ellen were whispering and giggling half the night. You all got progressively drunk and loud. You dropped a glass and then started trying it on with me in front of everyone.”

She smirks at that. _So, what? He was her husband. Let people stare._

“When we were getting our coats, you were all over Claire, telling her how big she had gotten.”

 _Well, that was pretty tame._

“You told Dick you couldn’t have run the studio without him.”

_Well, that was true._

“You were all over Ellen telling her she was the greatest and then something which I can only assume was provocative in her ear because she was shocked.”

_That must have been a nice change for Ellen who kept telling her she was a mean drunk. And saying something provocative? That must have been what Ellen was talking about on the phone. Yeah, that sounded like her._

“Then you tried to drive home, but I took the keys off you. I drove, whilst you tried it on with me. But when I said you were distracting me from driving you got offended and I told you we would wait until we got home, which you accepted.”

_So, they did have sex?_

“But you fell asleep and remained half asleep all through getting you into the house, undressed, redressed, and eventually into bed, where you crashed out immediately.”

_Oh. So, they didn’t._

“Oh, I was expecting worse. Thank you for taking care of me,” she smiles, reaching her hand out to touch his forearm.

“Glad I could return it,” he says still keeping his eyes closed, bring up a hand to close over hers.

“I’m sorry that I fell asleep before we got to do anything,” she turns her hand, lacing her fingers through his.

“It’s fine. You are not contractually obligated to put out. You have nothing to apologise for,” he says laughing, opening his eyes and looking to her.

She smiles back, rubbing her thumb against his hand.

“I’m going back in,” he says swinging his legs around, letting go of her hand to stand up. He moves over to the table to collect the sunglasses he had left there earlier, putting them over his eyes.

“I’m going to dip my legs in as well,” she says moving her book to the table, swinging her legs around and holding her hands out to him, gesturing for him to help her. He takes her hands and pulls, helping her up. She smiles, letting go of his hands, walking past him towards the pool, sitting on its edge and dipping her legs in. She, however, doesn’t notice that behind her, he has decided to stay completely still.

**He hasn’t done this in years. Here goes.**

When he sees she is settled by the poolside, kicking her legs in the water, he starts running towards the deep end of the pool, leaping into the air when he is just short of the pool and cannonballing into its depths.

She squeals at the backlash of water, bringing her hands up to protect her. She had in no way seen it coming until she seen him mid-air beside her. She hadn’t been soaked but a few trickles of water had hit her everywhere.

“You swine!” She shouts at him when he remerges to the surface, wiping at the water that had hit her upper arms. He laughs heartily when he hears her, wiping at the water on his face.

“You said you were warm…” he says innocently, floating in the water, looking towards her.

“I also said I was going to dip my LEGS in the water to relieve that,” she says, kicking her leg at the water towards him to splash him.

He starts swimming towards her.

“Ace, stay away from me. I don’t want to get wet!” She says warningly, pointing at him, placing her hands up to her hair to make sure it had survived. She adjusts her sunglasses when she realises it has.

“Me? I would never!”

He continues his swim towards her, running his hand under the water at her ankle up to her knee of one leg. She pulls at the hem of her dress, drawing it further up her thigh so he can’t get it wet.

 _If he tries something, she swears she will kill him._

“Don’t you trust me?” He says leaning to kiss her knee as he runs his hand back down to her ankle.

“No,” she says flatly, bringing a hand to his ear, running it down his jaw.

He smiles into a second peck on her knee.

“Fine,” he says letting go and back stroking suddenly away from her.

She laughs and starts kicking her legs in the water _. It was so hot out here_. She looks up to the sun again, soaking it in.

When she looks back down, she sees him floating on the surface also looking up to the sun.

 _She wonders if it would be like this from now. Would they take the same days off when they are back at the studio so they can relax together? With his heart attack, he is going to have to start taking things easier. She wonders if there would ever be a day where he would cut back at the studio or give it up completely so they could always do this. This would likely be what it was like if they started going on vacations. In the past they had gone to big cities normally so he could conduct business. When they had gone anywhere hot, it usually consisted of him partaking in some sport, usually golf with a friend, and her getting drunk at the pool all day with the wife of whoever he was with . A dinner in the evening with a group of people. Barely a word spoken between them for the whole vacation. Just the thought that that could be different was exciting. She would like to go to Hawaii or the Bahamas. Spending a whole day like this. Drinking, swimming, lounging, maybe playing tennis together, bringing along Claire sometimes, having a beautiful dinner, dancing to a lively band, a walk on the beach, making love through the night. It sounded so perfect that she would never have even allowed herself to dream of it before now. She never would have got her hopes up of such a beautiful thought before they had reunited. It would have hurt too much. But now, there was hope. Just look at him floating there._ She smiles to herself watching him. _He seems so happy and peaceful. This kind of life was exactly what he needed. What they both needed. She was almost afraid of him going back to the studio tomorrow in the chance it changed. She would have to take advantage of it now._

“Do you want to do something tonight?” She asks him, unsure if he has heard her.

He, however, stops floating on the surface and looks towards her.

“Are you feeling up to it?” He asks, referring to her hangover.

She simply nods in response.

“Then yeah. I’m up for whatever,” he says paddling around the pool. “What were you thinking?”

“Mmm, I hadn’t thought that far ahead,” she says, scooping her hand into the water and dapping it along her arms and chest to cool herself down.

“A movie?” He suggests.

“Yeah, it’s such a beautiful day though,” she counters.

“Well, they are showing the new Tracey/Hepburn movie at a drive thru downtown? We passed by it the other night. Means we will still be out in the open air?”

“God, I don’t remember the last time I went to a drive thru. Yeah, I like that idea,” she says kicking her legs again, watching the ripples of whatever she makes, looking at the reflection of the sun on the water.

“Sounds good,” he says continuing to float around the pool.

They remain in silence for a short while until Gertie emerges behind them.

“Can I get you anything Mrs Amberg, Mr Amberg?”

“Another lemonade would be brilliant, Gertie,” Avis says looking up behind her to Gertie.

“I will have the same, Gertie. Thank you,” he says as he swims towards the edge of the pool.

Gertie simply nods and walks back towards the house.

He edges across the wall of the pool towards her, leaning at the wall next to her. She brings a hand up to the back of his head, wiping the water from his neck, scratching a little at the hair there.

“I’m excited to get back to the studio, but I have to admit I love nothing more than this,” he says leaning an arm over her knee.

“What?” She asks, although she knows.

“This. Floating in a pool with a lemonade. Tranquillity. Though it would be better if you were in here with me,” he says with a smirk, quirking an eyebrow at her.

She smiles, chuckling a little.

“I’m quite happy here on the side lines for now. But I know what you mean. I was just thinking how great it will be if we vacation somewhere warm,” she says continuing the scraping of her nails across his shoulder.

He hums agreeably, looking up to the sky, the trees.

**He never really gave a shit about nature, but looking at it now, with this new perspective, this new zest for life since the heart attack, it was beautiful. He was noticing things he never had before. Just all the colours surrounding them. The noises of the birds around them. The flowers in their perfectly groomed garden. How many of them there were and all of their different colours. The trees surrounding them and realising how old they must be. How they would be here long after he left this world. So much care and attentiveness given to them that he never even noticed.**

**He looks over to the house also, realising its grandeur. The house had always been her domain. She had chosen it, changed it, taken care of it, and he had never really taken notice. But looking at it now, it was very beautiful. It had such a Mediterranean look which he loved. If he were to go out and look for a house now, this would be the one he would choose. It was a beautiful house. He never would have thought he would have this beautiful grandeur when he was growing up in the small apartment in the Bronx. He really was lucky. They both were. He had been on such a rollercoaster to this point, that he had never really stopped to look around him.**

He looks up to her as she looks up to the sun with her eyes closed. 

**He was lucky to have her too. He never would have thought he would have a wife like her. He never thought he would have a wife. He had never really considered marriage when he was younger. He had quite honestly appreciated women in their physique and their company but never really was looking for a wife to look after or one to look after him. He was quite happy enjoying the lust of women in his youth, whilst being allowed to be independent. His main goal had been to make it, to defy everyone that said he couldn’t and wouldn’t make it. He never wanted to get close to anyone, it would just be a burden. He had seen so many men tied down, despising their lives. Hell, he hadn’t even intended to date her, never mind marry her. He wasn’t going to pretend that she swept him off his feet. A drunken one-night stand at a bar after complaining about their lives wasn’t exactly a romantic love story. He remembers how attractive she was when he first saw her in that bar though. There was so many of her type in New York, but out here she was unusual. It was nostalgic. She wasn’t the typical all-American blonde he usually took home. But he remembers being sucked in when he spoke to her. She had been forth coming, drunk of course. She had a brassiness that most other girls here didn’t. Probably what his mother would call trouble if she had been there that night, but she loved Avis when they had met. His mother had been a quiet woman. Most women were like his mother though, never willing to give their opinion for fear of putting a man off. Avis, though, she didn’t care then or now. She was pissed off that night and she wanted someone to know about it. He admired that; it was something he missed about New York. He saw her vulnerability the longer the night had gone on. He would never have admitted that back then that he took advantage of that. She wanted to forget everything, and he had provided that. They had stayed up all night quite frankly fucking. And by God did she knew her way around. It had been a successful one-night stand in his eyes: good sex and bearing all to a complete stranger. He remembers that they lay in each other’s arms after, talking about everything and anything. The ability to speak to someone who actually had some intelligence with opinions, rather than a woman who was just trying to please him was refreshing. He was surprised that night that he had so easily dropped his inhibitions; he didn’t usually. He probably would have called her for another night of passion if she hadn’t got to him first with the news of her pregnancy.**

**He remembers the dread he felt when she told him. He wasn’t prepared for the commitment; had never planned on marriage, but he had done the right thing. He may have been a lot of things, but he could live up to his responsibilities so had immediately asked her to marry him. They didn’t love each other when they first got married and that was a fact that they both knew. He supposes he was lucky that they had such honesty on the matter when they first got married. They both knew were they stood. However, love** **had come later, for both of them. The more time he was with her, he became increasingly fascinated, attracted to her. He remembered how afraid he was to admit it to her. He didn’t know if she felt the same and was too afraid of it being unrequited. He had never loved a woman before.**

**It was solidified after they had Claire. He never thought of how she would be as a mother but when Claire was born, she had been so caring and worried about her all the time. He supposes it’s natural within most women. He had fallen for Claire when he first seen her too. Her tiny little hands, the little smile she gave him, and how she would giggle wildly when he tickled her. Avis had admitted her love first, always been the bolder of them both. Of course, marriage came with its issues. More pressure on him to thrive, to provide, but they had shared opinions, thoughts often. She had been a hugely brilliant advisor to him for his career in the early days. She had also been very intuitive in her perception of people and situations and was very good at charming clients and their wives. If he had known how useful a wife could have been as an advisor, as someone to share his ideas and thoughts with and bounce ideas off, he probably would have married earlier instead of leaving it to later in life. Why had he stopped asking for her help? Their love only grew through the years. She was his greatest advisor, his lover, as well a lot of fun. It wasn’t all fun though. With both of them being such strong personalities, everything was passionate. Their fights were fiery. Many a lamp had been broken and many a door slammed. But then their reconciliations had been even more intense.**

**He regrets how he had messed that up. It wasn’t a perfect marriage, but it had been a strong one until he had let his shit get in the way. He couldn’t describe how happy he was that they had come full circle. Those years estranged from her had taken a toll that he never even knew impacted himself. But here she was, willing to try again, opening herself back open to him.**

He is brought back to the moment when he hears her thank Gertie for the lemonade, instructing her to put it on the table.

When Gertie walks away, he stands up in the pool, his chest level with the ledge she is sitting on. He moves around her leg to stand in between them, running his hands up her thighs and wrapping his arms around her waist. She pulls her head down from the sun when she feels him moving around, instinctually moving her hands to his shoulders.

“You’re going to get me wet,” she says as he pulls at her waist to encourage her to shuffle to the edge, so she is closer to him.

“It will dry,” he says as he wraps his arms fully around her when she shuffles forward and settles his head on her chest, tightening his hug around her.

She moves her arms tighter around his shoulders, bringing her lips to the top of his head, kissing it, and then settling her cheek on it as she runs her nails across the skin on his shoulders. _She is surprised by his affection. After the last few days she thought at this point he would be all over her, hands already up her skirt. However, this tenderness was surprising, though not unwelcome._

“You all right?” She whispers, moving her foot to stroke his lower back.

“Yeah,” he says quietly, moving his head slightly to kiss at the exposed skin at her chest and then moving back to his original position.

_Yeah and I’m a nun._

“What’s up?” She pulls her head back away from him so she can look at his face, forcing him away from her chest, her hands still on his shoulders.

“Nothing,” he says moving to fiddle with the buckle of the belt around her waist. “You remember when we first got married?”

She snorts, “yeah. What made you think of that?”

“I don’t know… I was thinking about how we first started out compared to where we are now,” he says stopping to look up at her now, moving his hand back around to stroke her lower back.

“It’s been a journey. I didn’t think we would have been here a month ago, never mind after that one night back then,” she says smiling. _Why did he look so morose?_

“We wasted so many years, Avis,” he sighs, looking down.

“Hey, don’t think about that. Take it from someone who knows. I spent too much time warring over it. It’s not worth it,” she says putting her hand on his cheek, pulling his face back up to look at her. She leans down to peck his lips, then rubbing her thumb across his cheek.

“I never wanted to get married,” he says honestly.

“Neither had I,” she responds, smiling sadly.

“We were so honest with one another then. We both admitted we didn’t love one another at first. Then it all just clicked, and I fell so deep. We had it so good. Why did I ruin it all?”

She smiles, remembering how it had been. _She didn’t want to marry him, but she wasn’t going to be a fallen woman back then. She never would have survived. The one thing they had always had at first was honesty. She remembers when she started to really fall in love with him. She had been so embarrassed; so afraid of it. She had been so heavily pregnant and was afraid she was reading into his care for her. She convinced herself it wasn’t for her, but for the baby. But then when they became progressively flirtatious, she knew that wasn’t for the baby. They had spent so many months like that, both unwilling to say what they felt, both too embarrassed to be the first in case the other rejected them. Then she had Claire and that had taken up so much of her time and worry. Caring for a new baby with only him for help as he continued working. Her sister had eventually visited to help her for a few weeks, but she had been so nervous of doing something to harm Claire. She never thought she should have been a mother, but she loved Claire. She hates how her own hurt had gotten in the way of the relationship they could have continued. They had been as thick as thieves when she was a child._

_But then when she started getting into a routine with Claire a few months after she was born, she was back to having to cope with their feelings for him. She would look at him across the room, and had to be careful how she came across in case he noticed. When they had first had sex after Claire's birth, she had to make sure she didn’t lose herself completely in it in case she lost herself and told him. But she remembered how much she loved it, being connected to him, having him touch her, kiss her. She remembers when she told him, she was drunk, of course. The first time she had gotten drunk after Claire’s birth, it had been a couple of months. They had gone out to an award ceremony, she doesn’t remember which, her sister staying with Claire. They had had a great night. He had danced with her, been quite drunk himself. They had become amorous progressively throughout the night and couldn’t keep their hands off each other in the cab home. They had made love heatedly when they had got home, and she blurted it out. She was shocked when he said it back. The shocked again at the serious conversation after when they revealed all of their feelings for one another, the elation, the two more times they made love that night, the kisses he gave her the next morning, the look on her sisters face the next afternoon, having heard them all night. She wonders what would have happened if he hadn’t had strayed. What would have happened in those ten years? Would they have drifted apart naturally? Who knows? She was just glad to have him back now. She didn’t want to think of the what ifs, it didn’t do her good then and it wouldn’t do them good now._

“Because you’re human I suppose. Ace, you don’t know what would have happened if that hadn’t have happened. It’s happened now. I don’t want to think about how I felt in that time. As long as we continue like this, with this love and complete honesty, I will be the happiest woman on Earth. Let’s focus on us right now, us in the future, us being the parents to Claire we never were, us living the rest of our lives together happily,” she says holding his head in both her hands, making him look at her.

“See, you’re so much stronger than me,” he says reaching up to peck at her lips, tightening his grip on her waist, as she bends down to meet him.

“No,” she says smiling, stroking his cheek again, “I’ve just spent too long thinking about it in the past, and I don’t want to waste any more time focusing on what could have been instead of what could be now.”

“You’re right. What we have now is what’s important and we should be making plans,” he says absentmindedly.

“Absolutely, which is also why you need to be serious about making yourself healthy and well because if you leave me so soon after we just got this back, I swear,” she’s laughing as she says this, though she isn’t joking. _As if she has any control over it._

“I know,” he says kissing at her neck, pecking down the V-neck of her dress, moving her neckline aside to reach her collar bone. “I’m not going anywhere.”

She smiles, hugging him, giggling as he moves further to the swell of her breast. She feels as he moves his hands up under the hem of her dress, feeling his way along to the silk of her high waisted panties. **These were different.**

“Ace,” she laughs, “as much as I am enjoying this, let’s not have a repeat of yesterday, where Gertie walks out on us.”

“Gertie needs to get used to it,” he says pushing her brassiere aside continuing his kisses.

She closes her eyes, moaning.

“Ace,” she repeats warningly, pushing him back. She moves her hand to the patio behind her, leaning backwards, kicking her legs in the water again as she laughs at his pout. He tries a new tactic, moving his hands down her back to her behind as he moves his kisses over her clothed stomach, down to her centre. When she realises what he is trying to do, she laughs and moves up quickly to push his shoulders from the ministrations he is about to give there.

“That’s no better!” She is laughing as she squeals at him.

He looks up to her smiling, running his hand from her hip, down her thigh, to the underside of her knee, lifting it to throw it over his shoulder, holding it there as she tries to remove it.

“Ace!” She squeals laughing again.

“She won’t see anything”, he says as he looks to her exposed silk underwear, moving his mouth towards her.

“She will!” Avis whispers haughtily as she puts her hand to his collar bone, pushing him back, just as he reaches his target. “Go swim a lap to cool off!” She says laughing as she moves her leg off his shoulder, pulling her dress back down over her thighs.

“Gone off me already?” He says, his hands placed on the patio on either side of her knees.

“Never,” she says flirtatiously, leaning down to give him a deep kiss.

He moans into the kiss, moving his hands back underneath her hem, up her bare thighs.

She squeals into his kiss, pulling back laughing, slapping at his hands and pulling her hem back down, as he swims backwards away from her, smiling wolfishly. She laughs as he dips under the water for a few seconds, remerging with a splash, wiping his face of the water.

“You know, now I think of it, I think we should wait off from doing any of this,” she gestures between them with her hand, “in the off chance you get the go ahead tomorrow. It will make it better…”

He pulls his head back, looking offended as she laughs at his reaction.

“Are you kiddin’?”

“No,” she laughs, “imagine how much better it will be. Surely, you can go without for one day?”

“We’ve gone years without, Avis,” he says seriously.

“Yeah, so what is another day,” she shrugs, kicking her legs in the water.

“It’s not like I’m putting a quota that there needs to be one orgasm a day, but I would like to be able to naturally be allowed to do it if the occasion arises. Wouldn’t you?” He says swimming across the pool by her, looking at her incredulously.

“Of course, but if we didn’t do anything today then imagine the build-up considering how we have been in the last few days. The next time anything happens could be the full act and would be out of this world. All bets off if you don’t get the go ahead,” she suggests. _They had been particularly heated since reuniting. She thinks that the build-up of the sexual tension would make the actual act so much more intense when they finally could._

He stops swimming, standing up in the pool.

“Anything?” He shouts, his voice going up an octave. “So, what’s the limits here? Am I even allowed to touch you?”

“Of course, you can!” She laughs at his reaction, “I don’t know. Kissing? Hugging?”

“I suppose I don’t have a choice. It’s not like I’m going to force you,” he huffs, eyes bulging as he moves to swim past her again.

She laughs at him again.

“It will be worth it. It’s only a day,” she says as she kicks water towards him, splashing him. He is shocked and loses his technique, dipping below the water. He recovers quickly, standing to splash her back with his hand. The big splash of water hits her thighs, soaking the bottom of her dress, some hitting her chest and face.

“Ace!” She squeals, closing her eyes.

He is laughing heartily, “I need to get my kicks somehow, now you’re holding out on me.” He begins swimming around again as she jumps up from the edge of the pool to her feet, patting down the bottom of her dress.

“You’re an ass,” she says laughing, shaking her head. “Continue like this and it will be a week!”

“You wouldn’t,” he says continuing his backstroke, narrowing his eyes at her.

“Try me,” she says challengingly, hands on her hips, staring back. He watches her for a moment, then speaks.

“Okay, I’ve learned my lesson,” he says holding his hands up in air.

She nods, raising her eyebrows, smirking, and turns back to the lounger.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sensing a Ace/Avis early years story coming on with all of this backstory going on.


	22. Drive In Movie

She walks back to the sun lounger, taking a sip at her lemonade when she gets there. _It was so warm, and she could feel her head growing heavy again._ She then moves to sit on the lounger, spreading herself across it, watching him in the pool. She looks at her watch, _3.35. They had a bit more time until dinner._

“Did the sign say when the movie starts?” She shouts over to him.

“7.30,” he shouts back, swimming towards the stairs of the pool.

_They should get there early. If it is anything like she remembers, you’re best arriving early to get a good spot and get settled._

“Is it the one on Olympic Boulevard?” She asks picking up her book, as she

watches him climb the stairs out of the pool over the top of her book. 

“Yeah. The Olympic on Olympic and Bundy,” he responds walking towards her, taking a drink of his lemonade from the table when he reaches it.

_Well that was perhaps 30 minutes away. Dinner was at 5 so if they left by 6.15 at the latest, they would have enough time to get there and get settled. They should have plenty of time._

“All right. We should probably leave by 6.15 for the theatre. Sound good?”

“Yup,” he says walking to the lounger next to her, sitting down, moving his polo top then lying back on it and closing his eyes.

“I’m actually looking forward to it,” she says excitedly, bending her legs up towards her. “I haven’t been to one really since they first opened. When was that? Probably 13 years since I’ve been. Will be a nice change.”

“Yeah, we only went a few times. I went a few times since, just to scope them out for business when the guys that owned them were trying to get us to play our movies in them. But I never stayed to watch a movie. They usually only get the movies on the 3rd release, the 2nd if they are lucky, so if there is anything worth seeing, I’ve seen it before it even reaches there.”

“Well that explains why they are playing ‘Adam’s Rib’, that was out a good few months ago, but I never got the chance to see it,” she says turning the page, to where she left off.

“Neither did I. It’s not really for people who are desperate to see a movie. It’s cheap and cheerful, and good for when you have young kids. It definitely has a market, just not hugely in Hollywood. Everyone here wants to see the movie immediately, especially when there is a hype.”

“Maybe that’s something we could look into changing. Maybe we could look into investing and owning our own drive-in theatre if it could make money. We could charge a little more than the others but release movies at the same times as they are released to the theatres. You know what it was like when Claire was young. Most parents don’t want to miss out on the latest movies just because they have kids and that allows them to bring the kids along. I’m pretty sure I seen an ad campaign for letting kids in for free. It could make a fortune.”

He shrugs, keeping his eyes closed. “Maybe. But they are starting to get a reputation as well. As “passion pits” where the kids go and make out and worse in the cars instead of watching the movies. It goes back to the whole morality problem the media portrays. It might not be something we would want to be associated with the studio.”

“Is that why you suggested taking me there tonight,” she smiles, moving her leg over to run her foot along his calf.

He opens his eyes when he feels her strokes, looking over to her, seeing her flirtatious smile. He leans over to her, bringing his mouth closer to hers, stopping just short to whisper.

“If I wanted to do that, I wouldn’t need to pay a drive in theatre 50 cents for the privilege to do it in a car, I could do it here for free,” he says kissing her briefly and pulling back to lie on his back, facing the sun again.

She laughs, watching as he settles back down.

“Still, it might be something worth looking into. Assessing the numbers and profits that these guys make. It’s not like we would need to pay ourselves to play the movies, that’s a huge cost out the window. Tonight could be a good opportunity to research,” she says turning her attention back to her book.

He hums, beginning to nod off to sleep, soaking the sun in. She begins to read her book in the silence, hearing his even breathing, sipping at her lemonade every so often and smoking a few cigarettes.

Gertie appears at 4.30 to inform Avis that dinner will be ready in a half hour.

“Thank you, Gertie,” she says as she skips some of the pages to see how long until the chapter is finished. _Three more pages. She would read them quickly and wake him._

Once the chapter is finished, she turns to Ace to wake him. She taps his bicep a few times, speaking gently “Ace, wake up.”

He opens his eyes, twitching, “hmm?”

“Dinner is going to be ready in half an hour. We should go up and get ready,” she says closing her book, then swinging her legs around to slip her shoes back on.

He moves around to stand up, stretching dramatically, letting out a loud groan. She smiles up at him. _And people think she is the dramatic one._ She collects her cigarette case and lighter, standing up, as he picks up his polo top and towel, throwing them over his shoulder. They make quick work of heading up to their bedroom.

She enters the bedroom, throwing her items onto the vanity, him following closely behind her, heading directly to the bathroom.

He turns on the shower, dumping his towel and polo top on the floor, as she moves over to the wireless, turning it on and tuning it until there is soft music playing. He moves back into the room, moving towards his drawers to pick out some underwear, she follows behind him to look in the tall mirror by his drawers. When he turns back around to head to the bathroom, he sees her twisting to one side, and then to another to look at the back of her dress, a frown on her face.

“What’s up?”

“Do you think I have to change?”

He comes up behind her, looking in the mirror over her shoulder.

“Nah, you look fine,” he says pecking her neck and walking back towards the bathroom.

“Fine?” She looks back at him, as he stops in his tracks at her question.

“Ravishing,” he tries to save, still looking at her. She turns back towards him, running her hands down her silhouette.

“I’m not used to this underwear. It’s comfortable but very unsupportive. You can see the complete outline of my body, instead of the smooth one the usual underwear provides,” she says turning back towards the mirror to observe herself, looking at him in the reflection for an opinion.

“What do you mean?” He says moving back towards her.

She moves her hand from her breast down the line of her side to her hip, “you see how this isn’t smooth?”

He squints his eyes behind her, “I can’t see anything.”

She huffs, turning to him, picking up his hand and pulling it to her breast, making his hand follow the line she had just taken herself down to her hip.

He smiles at her mischievously.

“You knew what I meant all along didn’t you?” She narrows her eyes at him, speaking flatly.

“Yeah,” he says laughing, moving the hand still resting on her hip to move around to her back, pulling her to him closer.

“You’re an ass,” she says, hitting his shoulder with her hand, then placing it on his upper arm, pushing at it whilst laughing to attempt to move away from him.

“Okay, let me go,” she laughs.

“Wait,” he says, “I’m doing some research.” He begins moving his hand around her waist, up to her mid back, and around to her side. “Ah, I see what you mean now,” he says mock seriously.

“You’re an idiot,” she giggles, attempting to move away from him again.

He hums, moving down towards her mouth again, kissing her lovingly, moving his hand down to her bottom.

“You know the rules,” she says pulling away, both hands on his chest.

“You said kissing and touching were allowed, and I’m still researching,” he says moving to kiss her again.

She pulls back again, “Ace, we need to get ready and I still need your opinion on whether I should change.”

He lets her go, huffing loudly as she turns around to look at the silhouette in the mirror again.

“I think you should be comfortable and since it’s warm outside not constrict yourself,” he says moving back towards the bathroom. “You look beautiful in it and I am giving a 100% approval rating for the amount of access it gives me to your body,” he says smiling as he leans against the frame of the bathroom door, looking to her.

She looks around at him, laughing, “you’re completely unhelpful. Go for your shower and give me peace!”

He smiles moving into the bathroom to shower, as she sits at her vanity. _She supposes she will give it a try. She can put a white slip on underneath it so that the shape of her body isn’t completely evident. She’s not embarrassed by her body; she just isn’t used to it. She can take a light coat so she can wear it if they leave the car. Honestly, who are they going to walk into at a drive-in movie? Who was she trying to impress? Screw it. She spent hours every day stuck in a constricted suit and underwear to impress people. She was going to be sitting in a car in the heat for hours, she wanted to be comfortable for once._

She moves over to her drawers, pulling out a light slip, unbuckling the belt of her dress and throwing it over her head. Making quick work of throwing on the slip and putting the dress back on. She walks to the mirror and has a look. _That’s a bit better. Each contour of her body isn’t so evident when she moves around now, and it was still wasn’t restrictive._

She smiles now, moving back to her vanity chair and begins touching up her make up a little, never going without her red lipstick. As she begins looking for some jewellery to match with her dress, having not bothered earlier, when she hears the shower turn off. He soon exits the bathroom donning his dressing gown.

“Better?” She asks putting the earrings she had chosen into each lobe.

“Yeah,” he says walking to his wardrobe, sifting through for an appropriate suit. **It was warm outside, he didn’t want to overheat.**

“How do you feel about going back to work tomorrow?” She asks standing to move to the wardrobe next to his. _She had to choose a hat and an overcoat._

“Bittersweet,” he says putting out a grey cotton suit, moving to the bed to lay it there. “Whilst I’m excited to go back, I have enjoyed the relaxation.”

“Yeah, I was thinking about that earlier. We will just have to make more effort for relaxation. Dick is perfectly capable of running that place. You said yourself he’s a genius,” she says pulling out a coral light coat. _That would do._

“Can you reach the shelf up there to grab that hat box?” She asks pointing to the one 2nd from the left. He willingly comes over to reach for the box bringing it down, handing it to her.

“Thank you,” she says, moving to the chaise lounge with the box.

“Yeah, but I do enjoy working. And one of the reasons you were put in charge of the studio was because I didn’t want Dick to have too much power,” he says, moving to his dresser to pick out a shirt, undershirt, tie, and socks.

“You don’t give him enough credit. He isn’t like that,” she says opening the box and removing the white cartwheel hat, holding it out to review it. _Perfect._

“Yeah, well...” he says moving to select a pair of shoes to match the suit.

“And how do you feel about watching Meg? You feel any calmer about it?” She asks hesitantly, pretending to still review the hat.

He shrugs, “look Avis, I think it’s a risk. It’s not a risk I probably would have taken but I respect you and am proud of you for trying. It was very brave to take that plunge for all the right reasons, but I’m not sure it’s worth all the trouble it’s going to cause. But like I told you and Dick last night, I will at least watch the movie. There are so many other things to determine. Like how many theatres will even release it, the press, the security, the…”

She interrupts him before she can continue with his list of negatives.

“Well, we are getting ahead of ourselves. You don’t even know if you’re going back tomorrow. We will just need to see how you get on at the doctor,” she says, replacing the hat into the box and closing it over.

“I’m more concerned about the other go ahead we are waiting for than the studio,” he says moving up behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist, kissing her neck from behind.

She giggles, “you’re incorrigible. Honestly. You would think you were twenty.”

He pulls away, moving to his suit, “I am… in here,” he says tapping his temple twice. He laughs and begins undoing his robe.

She laughs, moving to pick up her purse at the vanity table; looking inside at its contents. She takes a seat, moving a lipstick into the purse, picking up her cigarette case to put it in but changes her mind, placing it back onto the vanity table.

“Do you think it’s unusual that we are still like this at our age? So lustful and passionate?” She asks, taking a cigarette out, lighting it, and taking a drag, turning in her chair to look over to him.

“Mmm… nah. If you feel it, you feel it,” he says having just put his undershirt on and moving to put his shirt on. **It’s the most natural thing on the world, right? If it’s there it’s there, if it isn’t it isn’t?**

“Ellen said she thinks it’s because we have been apart so many years. It’s like we are back to being honeymooners or like you just got out of prison and we are making up for it,” she laughs, taking another draw, exhaling above her.

“You’re talking to Ellen about this,” he says, looking up from finishing the last button on the bottom of his shirt. 

“Shut up!” She laughs, “are you trying to convince me that you haven’t ever talked to the boys about your sex life?” She asks, her eyes narrowing at him. _Yeah, okay Ace._

“Yeah, but the boys don’t work for me!” He moves to put on his suit pants. She rolls her eyes at his response.

“I didn’t tell her anything. I just told her we were very amorous, and it surprised me. I didn’t go into detail,” she says crossing her leg over, reaching to flick the ash into the ashtray. Turning to face the vanity mirror now, looking at herself in the reflection.

“Why are you surprised?” He laughs, ensuring the shirt is tucked into the pants before he fastens the clip and pulls up the zip. He reaches for his belt now, slipping it on and buckling it.

She shrugs, taking another draw of her cigarette. “I don’t know. I’ve always been very charged in that way. You know that. Though it’s not been every day for a long while, like it is now. But…”

He looks up at her, his tie around his neck, undone, “but you’re shocked I am?” He laughs. **He doesn’t know if he is offended or not.**

“No, well, yeah, a little. I told you Ernie has that issue due to his age, and you’ve also just had a heart attack. Saul said there could be an issue. Have you ever had that issue?”

He puffs into the air, “maybe five years ago, for a while. But not now; my dick seems to be back with a vengeance.”

She laughs at that, taking another draw.

“But you see, that’s what I mean; you are insatiable which I would understand if I was a pretty young blonde, but I’m not.”

He walks up behind her, taking the cigarette from her fingers to take a draw, handing it back to her as he exhales.

“You obviously don’t see what I do,” he says leaning down to her neck again, kissing gently. “If you would let me, I would take you over to that bed and show you.”

She smiles, bringing her free hand up behind her to the back of his neck as he continues his kisses.

She turns her head towards him, kissing him gently.

“I’m good,” she whispers against his mouth then draws back, laughing.

He huffs and pulls back, walking across the room, beginning to do up his tie.

“It will be worth it!” She shouts, taking a final draw of her cigarette and dabbing it out in the ashtray.

***

Dinner was an uneventful affair, other than Ace moaning when soup was placed down in front of him.

“I can’t live this way anymore!” He had shouted, putting his head in his hands.

 _She felt bad for him. It must be incredibly boring. At least she got to eat a decent meal when she went to the studio._ She gave an apologetic look to Gertie. _It wasn’t her fault and not an excuse to be rude._

She had had to treat him like a child, promising a few pieces of popcorn at the drive in, encouraging him to eat it. She reminded him that Saul may expand his dietary allowances tomorrow.

After dinner she had shot upstairs to get her hat, coat, and purse. However, she took out her address book and made a quick phone call to the doctor; had asked him if there was anyway Ace could have something as a one off and that the diet was causing a dip in his mood. Saul had advised her that he could have something small every couple of weeks or months or so, that that would do no harm, but he had to be careful as long term abuse could lead to a heart attack. _It was great news. He would be delighted, but she was going to sell it as a one off. If he got any ideas he could delve from his diet, he would take it too far._

She went back downstairs with her items and his hat, as he stood at the bottom of the stairs huffing.

“I telephoned Saul,” she says as she walks down the stairs, “he says you can have something as a one off, so maybe we can get you a little hot dog or something.” She smiles at him when she reaches him at the bottom of the stairs, as she watches his whole face change to elation.

“Really? He said that?” He says taking his hat, his voice getting high.

“Yeah, just the once mind you,” she says pinning her hat onto her head, moving to the door.

“Just the once. Got it! I won’t even think of anything in the future,” he says following her out to the car, closing the door behind him.

She rolls her eyes, though he doesn’t see. _Yeah, okay. She will believe that when she sees it._

***

They arrive at Olympic and Bundy with plenty of time to spare. She is excited when she sees the huge sign ‘Olympic Drive-In Theatre’ and its huge mural on the wall of two surfers in the sea. _It was such a long time since she had seen a movie this way. The last one she had been to was at the Pacific on Pico but that had been torn down a few years ago. Most of the time when she saw a movie now, it was at a preview or premiere – a big, lavish event. This kind of movie experience she felt was rather a more intimate and comfortable event. She was glad of their anonymity._

They wait in the short queue of cars for the ticket booth, pulling in to pay the attendant 44 cents per ticket for their entry. _Oh, and that includes tax?_ _Not bad._ She looks around and sees that there are hundreds of spaces available, a small counter next to rest rooms at the edge of the pitch. They pull into a stall slightly off to the side in one of the middle rows. They see a stand next to the car with a speaker in it. _Well, she had heard of this but had no idea how it worked. The last time she had been here, the speaker was at the screen at the front. She remembers being pissed off because the sound and picture weren’t in sync since they were so far back. But they had introduced new individual car speakers which apparently made it better._

She parks the car, turning its engine off, looking around to see if Ace has any clue what they were supposed to do.

“Do you know how they work?” She says gesturing to the speaker on her side of the car.

He blows out a huge huff of air, shaking his head.

“Not a clue. I remember been shown when they came in a few years ago but I was hardly paying attention. I had already lost interest by then,” he says looking over to it.

She opens the car door moving towards it, whilst he scoots over to her seat at the wheel to help.

She picks up the speaker, turning a knob, making it blare, giving her a fright as she immediately turns it back in the opposite direction until it’s near silent. She looks at the car that had pulled in before them – a young couple with twin toddlers running around the car now. She watches as the young man picks up the speaker, clipping it onto the side of the car, the volume on theirs becoming louder. She looks to the back of the speaker, seeing the clip.

“Well… that guy just sort of… clipped it on,” she says pulling on its clip and trying to clip it onto the door of the car, as he watches the contraption. Once it is clipped on, Ace adjusts the knob slightly, turning it up to a level that isn’t agonising, hearing a deep voice booming through the speaker.

“AND A HEARTY WELCOME TO OUR DRIVE-IN THEATRE! WE HAVE A WONDERFUL EVENINGS ENTERTAINMENT LINED UP FOR YOU, ONE THAT PROVIDE SEVERAL HOURS OF RELAXATION AND DIVERSION FOR YOU AND YOUR FAMILY…” They both look up to the screen, and see the words also displayed across the screen. She looks over to him, nodding impressed.

“This is much better than the speaker at the front, you can hear it so clearly,” she says to him, as he nods agreeing, looking back to the screen, watching the slide change.

“DON’T FORGET TO VISIT OUR REFRESHMENT CENTER DURING THE INTERMISSION OR ANY TIME! YOU’LL LOVE THE TASTEY ARRAY OF SNACKS WE HAVE TO OFFER AND SO WILL THE YOUNGSTERS.”

He looks over to the refreshment excitedly, standing in the car to see if the queue is long. She watches him laughing. _He truly was like a child._

“Do you want to go over just now or wait a bit?” She says looking to her watch, _6.50pm. They still had plenty of time._

“We can just go over now. We don’t know how long the queues will become,” he says moving to exit the car.

“Eager. Pass me my coat and purse out, will you,” she says as she walks around the car to him, watching him lean over to the back seat of the car, passing her the purse, and then taking her coat and holding it out for her so she can put her arms in.

Once it is on comfortably, he moves next to her as she takes the crook of the arm he holds out to her.

“I think I want to go to the rest room first,” he says as they walk towards the refreshment area, passing several cars on their route, dodging children as they run around. 

“I think I’m going to go also, if only to scope it out,” she says as they approach their destination.

“Get you out here?” she asks as she lets go of his arm. He nods agreeably, moving to the gents’ rest room.

She enters the ladies rest room, apprehensively. _It’s particularly small. She can see that there are three stalls, only one woman in front of her in the queue. She moves to lean against the wall, suddenly stopping as she realises it doesn’t look particularly clean. She stands awkwardly, looking up to the ceiling, seeing webs and dampness. She grimaces, looking over to the sink area, seeing only two small sinks and two unclean mirrors. It really could be cleaner._ She watches as a young woman struggles to change her baby on the counter next to one of the sinks. _It’s a shame. They really should have some kind of facilities in here if they are aimed at families._

She watches as a young girl comes out of one of the cubicles, walking to her friend who is waiting for her at the second sink. The woman in front of her in the queue moves into the free cubicle. _She’s front of the line._

She watches as the young girl nervously washes her hands, whilst her friend lights a cigarette. _They couldn’t be any more than 16._

“Stop being so nervous!” The smoking girl admonishes her friend.

“I can’t help it,” the nervous girl whispers sternly.

“Look Shirley, Ron and I will take the front seat so that you and Billy can take the back seat. There’s more room back there. Trust me, I was in your position last year and there is nothing worse when you’re getting into it and your foot gets caught in the wheel.”

Shirley looks to her friend nervously, pulling a nervous face. _Jesus, which one had she been when she was that age. Definitely Shirley. She never would have considered doing that in the back of a car when she was that age. Her mother would have slapped her around for risking getting into that kind of trouble at that age. Teenagers these days were so different. Maybe the papers were right about these places being passion pits._

“I don’t know, Betty,” Shirley responds nervously.

“Look Shirley, Billy is going into service next week. You can’t expect him to come back to you, if you don’t give him an incentive,” Betty says looking to her friend angrily, hands on her hips.

 _Wow, wow, wow. That’s not a reason to do that!_ She is about to walk over to the young girls and speak to them until she hears a loud cough behind her. When she looks around, she sees a woman behind her gesturing with her head to the free stall that has just become available. The girls are already half-way out the door when she turns back around to them. _Shit._

When she goes into the cubicle, she realises it’s no better than outside. The toilet is filthy, the floor no better, soiled in god knows what. There is no toilet paper. _There was no way she was using this facility. She doesn’t know how anyone could use this facility._ She looks around for something to flush the toilet without having to touch it. She sees half a square of paper on the floor, bending, grimacing her face, trying to keep as far away from the toilet as she can to grasp it, she covers her hand with handle, pushing it down to flush and then throwing it into the bowl. She flicks her hands into the air, sticking her tongue out, grossed out by the whole thing. She opens the door quickly and makes her way to the sink, lathering her hands in soap for a full minute to ensure that they are fully clean.

She wrings her hands, leaving the rest room, purse handle at the crook of her arm, still grimacing at the thought of that toilet. He sees her approaching him.

“You all right? You were in there a while” He asks, a smirk. **He can only imagine.**

“That was the most revolting thing I’ve ever seen,” she says, walking next to him towards the queue for the refreshment stand.

He laughs, “the gents wasn’t much better.”

“I didn’t even use it. It was too disgusting. And you were right, this might just be a passion pit. I saw too young girls, perhaps 16 years old. One of them was trying to pressure the other, a shy young thing, into fooling around with her boyfriend because he was going into service next year. I was going to step in until the woman in the queue behind me interrupted me. Actually…” she says looking around, holding onto his shoulder to give herself height, trying to see over people’s heads, “if I see her, I’m going to have a word. Use your height. She’s brunette, wearing a blue dress, white collar. The other girl is a blonde, pink dress, a little taller than the brunette.”

He laughs, looking down at her trying to heighten herself to see past the throes of people around them.

“Avis, you can’t interfere in things like that. They’re kids. All kids do it,” he says, bringing his hand around her shoulder to stop her looking around.

“I didn’t!” She says, looking up at him incredulously. “Poor Shirley didn’t even want to and the blonde, Betty was trying to force her into it,” she shoots at him angrily, bringing her hand up around his waist.

“How do you even know their names?” He says laughing, stroking her shoulder.

“I listen!”

He smiles, bringing her in tighter, leaning down to kiss her cheek. “I admire that you are so protective of the young girl.”

“Well if it was my daughter, I would want someone to tell her not to do it. Wouldn’t you?”

He thinks about it. **His Claire. She wouldn’t engage in that. Would she?**

He begins looking around, “blue dress, white collar did you say?”

She smiles up at him, trying to look again also, as they here an attendant shout to them, “First here, please!”

She taps his back, encouraging him to move to the attendant.

They let go of one another, approaching the attendant smiling, looking at what they have to offer.

“A dog please, ketchup and mustard, and a cola, large,” he says firmly and decisively. _He had been thinking this out._

“A little bit of ketchup and mustard on it, please!” She says looking up at him, shaking her head.

The young boy goes to prepare the hotdog and drink, returning quickly.

“Popcorn, please,” Avis says, taking the drink from Ace so he can reach into his pocket for his wallet.

When the young boy returns with her popcorn, Ace pays him telling him to keep the change as they turn to walk back to the car.

He begins to move towards the hotdog to take a bite, however, before he can she shouts at him.

“My god, Ace. Wait until we get back to the car so you can savour it.”

He grimaces, bringing the dog away from his mouth.

They hear the sound from each of the individual speakers as they walk by all of the cars.

“WE HOPE YOU WILL MAKE THIS A WEEKLY VISIT! BRING THE FAMILY, BRING YOUR FRIENDS. THERE ARE ALWAYS WONDERFUL NEW PICTURES TO SEE!”

He opens the door for her as she holds both her popcorn and his drink. She shuffles along so that he can slide in also. When they are both settled, he closes the door and she hands him the drink. He takes a sip, so it doesn’t spill over the interior of the car. **This was custom made, it wasn’t going to get ruined.**

She looks over to the speaker next to her, taking a piece of popcorn and putting it in her mouth. _Not bad. Pretty sweet._ She moves her hand over to the speaker, adjusting the knob slightly to turn it up. However, she is distracted by Ace addressing her.

“Am I allowed to eat this now?” He asks her, holding the hotdog happily near his mouth.

She laughs, “yes. Enjoy.”

He takes a bite into it, sighing happily, and then moaning he chews.

“God,” he mumbles through his chewing. “This is just…” He groans again.

“Good?” she says, slipping another piece of popcorn into her mouth.

He moans, nodding vigorously.

He doesn’t speak for the next five minutes, only moaning as he eats the hotdog, giving its full attention.

She places her popcorn next to her, moving to take her coat off, throwing it into the back seat. When she is settled, she picks her popcorn back up, and looks around her at all the people and what is here. _There are so many families here. Some older children are running around in between the cars, clearly bored of being here whilst they wait for the movie to start. Then are some of the parents who are trying to settle their younger children down, preparing for them to be sleeping in the backseat._ She looks at her watch again, _7.20pm._ Even when she looks over to Ace, she sees a woman in the car next to them, looking down at a bundle in her arms, a blanket over the baby, clearly breastfeeding her child discreetly. _That was such a good point. She never thought of that. New parents must really benefit from a theatre such as this, where they can discreetly do that and not have to get a babysitter. This would have been a perfect thing for her when Claire was a new-born; when she was too afraid to leave her behind and go out. It would have been a great steppingstone for her. But the facilities here for children were pretty dire._

_She sees the teenagers too. Groups of young kids, from 16-20 years old, with their friends. They were the rowdier of the people. Most of them were coupled off or flirting with one another. She wonders if they will settle when the movie starts._

She looks over to the refreshment stand, the queue around 30 people deep. _There was no way those people would have their food before the movie started. They really could be expanding that, making more money._

When Ace finishes his hot dog, he moans gratefully, using the napkin to wipe his mouth.

“That was just brilliant,” he says, moving to pick up his drink, taking several huge gulps.

“I’m glad you enjoyed it, darling,” she smiles to him.

He begins looking around now himself.

He looks down at his watch, **7.25pm. Not long now.** He sees the children running around also. He moves to take off his jacket, throwing it into the back seat. He takes off his cufflinks, rolling his sleeves up a little to accommodate him in the warm air.

“There aren’t a lot of facilities here for children are there, considering it’s supposed to be so family focussed,” she says seeing he too is looking around.

“Nah, apparently they are looking into building play parks in some of the newer drive-ins. To occupy the older kids, probably so they don’t run in front of the screen,” he says watching the kids running in between cars.

“That’s a smart move. They want to look into expanding the refreshment stand to reduce that queue though and putting more on the menu. They don’t have a lot to offer. And the toilets, they want to think about making them useable without contracting a disease,” she shivers at the memory of them. “And I watched as a young girl changed her baby on a disgusting sink; that can’t be sanitary. You would think they would have bigger counter space to allow for changing facilities, and for the younger girls updating their makeup for their dates,” she adds.

He looks at her surprised at her intuition. **She was correct. It would make the place more family friendly.**

He starts laughing at the last comment though, “ten minutes ago, you were ready to poke your head in every car to stop that girl, now you want to provide a facility for her to doll herself up.”

She looks at him, pulling her head back, pulling a face, “I’m not a nun, Ace. I know what kids get up to but I’m against young girls being pressured into doing things they aren’t ready for!”

He smiles, pinching a piece of popcorn from her bag and throwing it into the back of his mouth.

His eyes close in pleasure as he moans again, “Oh, that’s good.”

She rolls her eyes, looking to the screen again.

“SHOW STARTS IN THREE MINUTES!” They hear the deep voice booming through the speaker. They both see the screen change, inviting people to visit the refreshment stand again.

He picks the drink back up to his mouth, turning it to her, offering it, “you want some?”

She nods, moving her mouth towards the drink he holds up to slip the straw in her mouth to take a sip.

“Thank you. Do you know what this movie is about?” She asks him when she pulls back.

“Battle of the sexes,” he says, cocking his eyebrows.

“I didn’t know they were showing our life story,” she says smiling sweetly, inserting a piece of popcorn into her mouth, chewing slowly.

“Ha ha,” he says sarcastically. “So, are you going to continue sitting all the way over there then because I’m not allowed to touch you then, or are you going to allow me get closer?” 

“Will you behave?” She asks, unmoving, eying him challengingly.

“I will if you do,” he says, inching towards her.

She shuffles into the middle of the seat, until their thighs are touching, him placing his arm behind her, around her shoulders.

She leans into his side, enjoying the closeness. But she feels him instantly, lean down to kiss her neck.

“Ace, for god sake you lasted three seconds,” she says, closing her eyes as he hits the spot under her jaw that drives her wild.

When he pulls away, she opens her eyes, seeing him popping a piece of popcorn into his mouth, holding another piece between his fingers, smiling widely.

“You snake! Is that why you wanted to move closer?”

“Nah, but it’s a good perk,” he says moving down to kiss her plainly on the lips, which she returns with a cautiousness.

“Uhu,” she says, looking to the screen as the opening credits begin.

_The movie isn’t too bad. It’s quite comical actually. She likes that there is actually a portrayal of a female lawyer and how she takes on her husband. GOOD FOR YOU KATHARINE! YOU SHOW HIM! Though the movie becomes a little morose when Katharine begins winning the case and Tracey gets butt hurt about it. The tension in their relationship, of them falling apart is a little too close to home._ _That wouldn’t happen to him when he returns to the studio, would it?_

She starts to feel a little anxiety at the thought. She pulls the cigarettes from the purse next to her, offering him one, which he takes, lighting them both, as she puffs hers stressfully.

_He put her in charge of the studio, he surely wouldn’t start getting jealous or tense if she had opinions and was a part of the decision-making process alongside him, would he?_

He clearly begins losing interest in the movie also as she puts the popcorn bag down, and he begins stroking the hand she had been resting on his thigh solidly, tightening his grip around her shoulder to get her attention. She turns her head to him. He isn’t watching the movie, he’s looking to her, eyes intense. The sky had grown darker as the night had progressed, the stars appearing. It was actually very romantic when she thought about it.

He leans in to kiss her neck, her eyes closing instantly, her hand on his thigh gripping tightly as she gasps at his touch. She moves her head to nudge his, so he looks up to her. He tightens his grip on her shoulders again, pulling her to him so that he can kiss her deeply. She moans into his mouth, bringing the hand not on his thigh to move up to his neck, pressing his lips harder to her as he invades it.

_They were strong as a couple now, surely. They weren’t Hepburn/Tracey. It was just a movie. He admired her for her strength, he said so himself. He liked that she was opinionated and brassy. He wouldn’t do that to her. The studio wouldn’t affect their relationship._

He pulls back from her mouth, breathing heavily, moving his free hand around her waist to pull her closer to him, turning her onto her side so he can embrace her as he pulls her in for another deep kiss. She can feel herself being pushed up harder against the back of the seat, as he runs his hand from her waist down to her hip, pulling her light dress up to touch the skin of her thigh.

However, when she pulls back attempting to take a breath, he moves to her neck. She breathes deeply, moving her hands behind his head, pushing him into her neck, moving her head to the side to give him better access, closing her eyes.

However, when she opens them, looking back to the cars behind them, she realises they are very much on display. There are a number of people watching the movie in their direction; they can hardly be missed. She looks over her shoulder further to the side behind them and is shocked to see a mirror of herself, but… _it isn’t. It couldn’t be._ She pulls back a little, straining her eyes to see Ace’s eyes staring back at her, but it isn’t Ace. _Oh, shit._

She sees Claire, giving her the same panicked look from a row behind, three cars away, smeared lipstick, Jack deep in her neck, her arms tight around his neck, his arms moving around Claire like an octopus. Claire’s eyes bulged, with both embarrassment at being caught, and repulsion at catching her parents in the same position.

“Ace, Ace, stop!” She says, eyes still on Claire, pushing him away at the shoulders.

“What? Why?” However, he doesn’t stop, moving lips down her neck to her collar bone.

She moans loudly, closing her eyes, opening them quickly and mouthing for Claire to stop also, pointing to Ace, waving her hands, bringing her hand up to her head. _Maybe it was good he wasn’t stopping. If he seen what Claire was doing, he would lose it. He would drag Jack out of that car._

She watches as Claire successfully pushes Jack off after a single attempt. _Well she was glad he was still a gentleman when he wasn’t being paid to do what he was told._ Finally, Jack looked over to them, completely embarrassed, flying to the other end of the car as they both righted themselves, Claire looking in a mirror to fix her lipstick, Jack wiping his mouth, trying to look presentable. She attempts to move Ace away again when she sees they are more or less presentable.

“Ace, Claire is here. She can see us,” she says waiting until he registers it. After a few seconds he does, pulling back.

“What? Where?” His arms still around her, them still pressed close together.

“Row behind, three cars over my head,” she says, her eyes closed as she speaks. She opens her eyes, watching as he looks over her head in their direction.

 **Surely, she was mistaken. Claire didn’t drive. Maybe she was with her girlfriends.** Finally, when he sees them, he sees as Claire and Jack sit embarrassed, waving awkwardly towards him.

**Jack? What is she doing at a place like this with Jack? Did she not know what people thought about a place like this? Well at least they aren’t all over each other. Maybe they just wanted to see the movie.**

“Jesus,” he says pulling away from her, huffing. “We really can’t catch a fuckin’ break,” facing forward to watch the movie again.

She smiles, sighing in relief that he obviously hadn’t suspected anything. _Claire was a young woman. She didn’t have any qualms about what Claire got up to but in front of her father could lead to a fatality._

She moves her fingers around the perimeter of her lips, ensuring her lipstick hasn’t strayed. She smiles to him kindly, rubbing the little lipstick at his mouth as he huffed and then placing a hand on his thigh again.

“Maybe next time,” she says as he places his hand over hers. “We can go say hi when the movie ends.”

He huffs, continuing to listen to the movie. **He was acting like a child in a tantrum and he knew it. But Jesus Christ, were they ever going to stop being interrupted. He didn’t think she was going to allow him to become amorous and he had actually been successful and now this. Plus, the embarrassment of his daughter and Jack catching them like they were the teenagers.**

“You know, you can still put your arm around me. I don’t think we would repulse anyone, doing that at our age,” she smiles, _a weak attempt at a joke_.

He smiles at her, putting his arm back around her as she cuddles in, whilst they turn their attention back to the movie, watching it to the end.

_She was glad they ended up together in the end; she had been worried that they wouldn’t._

**He was glad that they wouldn’t have to go through this when he went back to the studio. He wouldn’t need to worry about them stepping on each other’s toes at the studio when he was back, thankfully. She would want a break from it when he went back. Would probably want to go back to taking care of the home and her charities. She had talked about how stressed the whole thing was making her. She had got some fulfilment from it and for that he was happy. He could really see a different Avis. Dick and Ernie had said how she had changed so much also. Hopefully she would take this experience and feel happy about it, less stressed when he came back and took the burden back off her.**

She turns back towards him, smiling when the movie was over, a small tear in her eye. She moves towards him to give him a peck on the lips. He returns it happily, lingering for a little longer than he should.

“Come on, let’s go say hi,” she says as she moves to open her car door. He follows her as she takes the speaker off the door and places it back into its receiver.

As they walk over to Jack’s car, she notices Jack looking panicked and Claire whispering to him frantically.

“Hi!” Avis takes the lead, trying to signal that Ace hadn’t noticed anything. “We didn’t even notice you were here! We are sorry you had to see us like that, but there is no need to be embarrassed because of us,” she laughs loudly, the fakest she has ever sounded as she grasps Ace’s arm, him giving an awkward smile towards her. **This whole thing was just uncomfortable.**

“We have been married for over 20 years, these things happen,” she gives a loud fake laugh again, bulging her eyes at them behind Ace’s back when he looks towards them, shaking her head and pointing it towards Ace.

Claire finally catches on, “Oh, Oh. OH, don’t worry about that,” she gives a fake laugh also, “we hardly even noticed.” She nudges her hand against Jacks knee, encouraging him to also give a fake laugh.

“So, what are you two up to?” Ace says plainly.

“Oh, nothing. Just came to see the movie. I missed it in the theatres and Jack had seen it in its first run and said it was good, so we came here,” she says, voice wavering a bit. Avis’s eyes roll back in her head, fluttering closed.

“Well! We will leave you both to it! The night is young, and the cars are starting to leave. See you at home,” she awkwardly, pulling Ace’s arm to turn back to the car.

“Not too late!” Ace shouts, beginning to move back to the car.

“Of course,” Claire shouts enthusiastically.

They walk back to the car in silence, she hopes and wishes that he doesn’t talk about Claire and Jack anymore. _No such luck._

“They seem to be getting closer,” he says as she begins to reverse from the stall, towards the exit.

She hums in response, stopping briefly in the queue to exit the theatre.

“Seeing each other every day at the studio. Rehearsing together. Dinners. They were at the party together last night and then again today,” he says emotionless.

“What’s wrong with that?” She says, chancing a glance at him.

“Oh, nothing,” he says nonchalantly. _Nothing, my ass._

As she waits to merge onto the boulevard, she sees a sign for Santa Monica beach. _3.5 miles. What time is it? 9.20. Fuck it._

She makes a last-minute turn towards the beach and away from their home.

“Where are you going?” He asks confused.

“Santa Monica beach. Why not? It’s only after 9pm and we are 10 minutes away from it,” she says smiling.

He shrugs, willing to go along with it. **He likes the beach. Loves the smell of the saltwater. And considering he had hardly been out of the house; he would welcome it.**

“How about we go to the pier?” He suggests, holding his hand out to the breeze the car gives.

She smiles at him widely, excited that he is on board.

“Sure,” she says as she turns up the volume of the radio. “Could you get me a cigarette?” She asks singing along to the radio. He watches her happily, doing as she asks and taking one for himself.

They continue the journey in silence, listening to the radio, and smoking their cigarettes. _She loves that they have become so companionable in such a short space of time. They didn’t have to talk and talk, they could just enjoy each other._

When they get to the pier, they park the car. It was getting dark now but it’s lights make the place look so pretty. There was hardly anyone in the vicinity. A few couples, a couple of kids. She reaches into the back of the car to grab her coat as he leaves the car, taking in a deep breath of the ocean air. **It was exactly as he remembered. He loves this smell, why did he never come here. It was literally a short drive away.**

She moves around the car, putting the keys in her handbag, as she moves up behind him, passing him his jacket and attempting to put her own coat on. When he gets his jacket on, she takes his arm, as they start walking towards the pier, looking around at the surrounding beach. They move onto its wooden platform under the huge archway of the pier to walk along the boardwalk. She closes her eyes, feeling the breeze on her neck. _She missed this feeling._

“Now remember not to start walking ahead of me. You’re legs and therefore pace is longer than mine. So, unless you want a leisurely walk yourself, slow it down because I’m not sprinting to keep up with you,” she laughs as she grips his arm.

“Yes, ma’am,” he says, saluting her, grasping her hand that was in the crook of his arm.

There was a bit of a breeze as they walk down the wooden walkway. They look to their left, seeing the huge building, Café Goodwin, and how there were people still inside working inside, busying themselves cleaning tables to close up for the night. They look at the huge unused rollercoaster on the right also. **It was the** **Whirlwind Dipper then; he remembers bringing a date down here once when he first came here. He went on that roller coaster maybe six times. It was a shame they closed it a few years back.**

_She looks to the carousel. What was a beach without a carousel? It reminds of going to Coney Island when she was a child and all the attractions that used to be there. It was odd to think that they were literally on the other side of the country now, looking at a completely different Ocean when it looked so similar, smelled the same. Everything had changed so much._

She moves in closer to him as a warm breeze grows stronger once they are past the large building, in the open air, blowing her coat around. When they reach the end of the walkway, there is another couple standing on its edge kissing. They try embarrassingly not to look at the couple. So she is first to walk far away from them, in front of him, moving to the very edge corner of the boardwalk, leaning against the wooden barrier, as he comes to stand next to her.

“It really is beautiful, isn’t it? So freeing.” She says smiling, looking out to the ocean.

The couple next to them stop kissing once they hear her voice, walking away from the edge back down the boardwalk. She smiles at them awkwardly, then looks back to Ace laughing, as he looks over his shoulder, raising his eyebrows at them.

She looks back to the ocean, as he moves behind her, wrapping his arms around her from behind, as she places her hands on his, smiling.

“Yeah, it’s beautiful. It’s so,” he takes a deep breath, “fresh.”

She smiles, laughing a little. He looks around to see if there is anyone around. **If he gets disturbed one more time, he swears.** There is no one around though.

He moves his hand to kiss her cheek and then neck again, as she smiles, turning in his arms immediately. **Kissing her neck had always drove her wild.** She lifts her hands up to his neck as his kisses move to the front of her neck, up to her pulse point. She moves a hand to his face, curling her lip in anticipation of pulling his mouth to hers. He presses her against the wooden railing as he kisses her intensely, moving his hands one by one under her coat around her back.

 **She was right, you could feel much more with her lack of underwear.** He discovers this as his hands roam across her back, backside, and hips. She moves her hands from the back of his neck to pull at his tie, undoing the top three buttons as she moves her kisses away from his mouth to his jaw and then to his neck. She moves her kisses back up to his mouth, as she runs her hands up the exposed skin across to his collar bones, around his tie, and then settling on his neck. When the wind grows stronger, she lets go of one hand around his neck to hold onto the top of her hat, so she doesn’t lose it in the ocean, still invading his mouth with her tongue, and pressing harder into the railing, bending her leg to hook it around the back of his calf. He eventually breaks away when he needs air, moving his forehead to hers as they both breathe deeply.

“Jesus, I want you,” he says, pulling her tighter as she still holds her hat.

“Me too. One more day,” she says, pecking his lips again.

He sighs deeply, moving his head away from hers, looking around her to the ocean. She experimentally, let’s go of her hat, the wind having died down, and turning back to look at the ocean also. He tightens his grip around her from behind, as she pulls his arms further around her harder. They both take a deep breath, as he leans his chin on her shoulder, cheek to cheek.

“I love you, babe,” he whispers, kissing just below her ear and moving back to look into the abyss. She grins, a tear forming in her eye.

Her voices catches, “I love you, too,” she manages as she turns her head to peck his lips, both of them immediately looking back out to the sea, tightening their embrace.

_This was the life._

**This was the life.**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not long until we are back into the TV show and this fic finishes up. Hope you have all enjoyed it :)
> 
> Sorry if it can become monotonous with my particular detail on almost every minute of every day, instead of drama after drama. It's the monotonous moments between couples I have always enjoyed most!
> 
> Don't worry the drama is coming in the next chapter


	23. Doctor, Doctor

They stand on the piers edge, embracing for the longest time, watching the waves as they flow and crash below them. They are interrupted from their silent dreaming when another couple come up next to them. She extracts a hand from his arm, twitching at her wrist to look at her watch. She struggles to see it at first in the dark, moving her wrist further away.

“Can you make that out?” She asks him over her shoulder.

He squints his eyes, taking her wrist in his hand, and pushing it further back, as she screws up her eyes also.

“Just after 10,” he says, letting go of her wrist, and wrapping his arm back around her.

“Come on,” she says, moving her hands to his to extract his arms from around her. “We had better head back. We need to be up early to get you to the doctor,” she says, turning around, taking his arm to walk back down the board walk. When they finally reach the bottom of the long board walk, there is a rumble of thunder above them.

“Shit!” He shouts. He looks up to the dark sky; thick clouds forming. **It was going to pour before long.**

“Come on, we need to hurry. The car top is still down,” she announces, picking up her pace. He tries to also, still trying to hold back so he doesn’t leave her behind. She lets go of his arm when they are a few paces away from the car, to extract the keys from her purse. They both quickly enter the car, she inserting the keys and quickly pushing the huge knob next to her wheel to allow the mechanism to start moving the top upward. _She was thankful this car was new. She couldn’t face having to manually put it up herself._

The top is almost up when the downpour begins, another roar of thunder and a fork of lightening lighting up the sky in the distance. She squeals, leaning back so that the water misses her head. When the top clicks into place, he moves the large lever to click the top into place. The rain pounds off the top of the car, as she turns on the headlights and windscreen wipers to give her some visibility.

“That was close,” she says, taking a deep breath before she reverses from the bay.

The rain doesn’t let up on their journey home. She drives slowly as the wipers try to keep up with the river pouring down the windscreen. He doesn’t talk, not wanting to distract her from her concentration, simply looking in the mirrors every so often to be an extra pair of eyes for her.

**He doesn’t know why he hadn’t anticipated the rain. It had been humid today, it always ended in a thunderstorm when it had been that sweltering.**

When they finally approach their home forty minutes later, they sit in the car for a moment after the engine is off, listening to the rain pounding off the fabric of the top.

“I’m going to get soaked,” she estimates. “I’m starting to regret this thin dress and coat,” she puffs, looking out the window and up to the dark clouds in the sky. _There is no way that was going to let up._

“At least your big hat will save your hair,” he mentions, smiling.

“It’s straw, Ace,” she plainly informs him. **Or not.**

He laughs, “oh well, you’re fucked.” He laughs harder at her shocked expression, her mouth gasping open.

“Look, you run in first and I will slide over and close the door behind you, so you don’t spend any more time in it than you have to. Luckily the door to the house is protected from the rain. Just don’t fall,” he laughs.

“Okay, okay, okay,” she agrees, trying to syke herself up to open the door.

“Don’t forget your purse,” he says, picking it up and passing it to her.

“Okay, okay, and you will take the keys?”

“I’ll take the keys,” he smiles, catching the keys she drops into his hand.

“Okay,” she puts her hand on the door handle, taking a deep breath, “okay, one, two, three,” she shouts opening the door quickly and screaming as the rain pelts her on her run up the walkway to the front door. He shuffles along to the driver’s seat, doubled over in laughter, watching her through the open door as she sprints, screaming.

“Oh my god! I’m soaked!” She shouts from the doorway’s shelter, as she shakes her hands of the water, rubbing her hands against the chest and skirts of her dress.

As he moves to get out the car, his foot on its edge, the rain stops pounding, becoming extremely light. He laughs even harder, getting out of the car, slamming the door behind him and walking leisurely up the walkway. She looks at him shocked as he has a huge grin on his face, looking directly at her.

“See, that wasn’t so bad,” he says as he approaches her, covered in tiny speckles of rain.

“You’ve got to be kidding,” she scoffs, the water from her coat seeping through onto her shoulders.

He laughs heartily, taking the keys to the house out of her purse, before opening the door and stepping through it. **Gertie would be in bed by now. She wouldn’t be showing up anywhere.** She follows him, taking the pin from her hat and removing it, sticking the pin into the hat after. She shakes her head from side to side, shivering, bringing her free hand up to her hair to see if it had gotten wet. _Not too bad. It would dry in no time._

He moves behind her to lock the door as she begins climbing the stairs; he follows dutifully behind her.

When she gets to the landing, she slips her coat down her arms as she walks into the bedroom, revealing a soaked top half of dress showing the outline of her brassiere.

“For god sake,” she says as she walks directly into the bathroom, hanging the soaked coat on the hook, kicking her shoes off. _She would have to get that specially cleaned._ He takes is suit jacket off, placing it onto the chaise lounge.

“Can you grab me a night dress?” He hears her shout to him from the bathroom.

“Yeah!” He shouts, moving over to her dresser, opening the top drawer showing all kinds of underwear and hosiery. He closes it again, opening the next drawer down, revealing an array of satin and silk nightgowns. He looks at all the choices, unsure which to pick.

“Do you have a preference?” He says picking up one black nightgown with one hand and a pink one with another.

“Ehm, preferably one that’s longer. I’m freezing! But it doesn’t really matter. Whatever comes to your hand first!” She shouts as she finally peels the wet dress from her skin, throwing it onto the ground.

He looks at the two in his hand, pulling them fully out of the drawer. Well the black was long and the pink short. **The black one it is.**

He puts the pink one back in, then pushing the drawer shut with his hip. He walks to the ajar door, pushing it open, revealing her in her brassiere and silk underwear only. He takes a gulp. **He has never seen her in this kind of underwear before. He had seen this underwear before of course; most of the younger girls he had bedded usually opted for it. But on her, it was unusual. She usually wore one of those full piece corselette things, sucking everything in. It was good to see more of her skin, part of her natural figure still being hugged by underwear. He was able to see her midriff and her short bare legs, one of which she had just perched on the toilet, being rubbed down with a towel.**

“Uhm… here you go,” he says, handing the night dress over, it lingering in the middle of the air as he waits for her to grasp it.

“Thank you darling, just throw it over there,” she nods her head to the sink area.

He moves to put it on the sink counter, chancing a glance back over to his shoulder as she moves her other leg to dry, he gets a good view of her chest as it nearly spills from the brassiere.

**He needs to get out of here. He can’t do anything about it so he should just change and get ready for bed.**

He leaves the bathroom silently, beginning to undress himself and get into pyjamas he pulls out of his own dresser.

 _Well he is quiet_ , she thinks as she finishes drying, moving to wash the make-up off her face before changing into her night dress.

When she enters back into the bedroom, he is sitting on the chaise lounge in his pyjama bottoms, doing up the buttons of his pyjama shirt.

She smiles as she moves towards the vanity to remove her jewellery. She successfully removes all of the jewellery, beginning to take the pins from her hair so she can brush her hair out, allowing it to dry. As she finishes by pinning up the front few curls and, placing and pinning the back of her hair in a net, she sees him walk towards the window to look outside.

She rises, ready for bed finally, but is curious at what he is seeing. She comes up behind him and looks out of the window around him, her hand resting on his lower back, stroking from side to side with her nails.

“It’s wonderful, isn’t it?” He says, still pulling the curtain back, watching the flashes of lightening in the sky over Los Angeles.

“Yeah, from this angle, indoors,” she smiles up at him, nudging him, “you always loved a storm,” she adds still stroking his back as flashes of light beam across her face.

“Yeah. They scared me as a kid when we were in that little flat, but I remember my first one when I came out here. The protection of being indoors whilst all that goes on out there,” he says, moving an arm around her shoulder, never taking his eyes off the flashes, the noise of thunder rumbling through their French windows as she looks back outside.

“You remember that night we first met, when we were lying in bed exhausted from multiple orgasms and the thunderstorm started. How you got out of bed and opened the damn windows and came back into the bed; just watching everything from afar. I thought you were crazy. Then you started telling me all about your life in the Bronx and asking about mine in Long Island. Then I started complaining about how I was freezing with the open windows, and you decided to heat me up by fucking me senseless instead of closing them?” She laughs, looking up to him, her free hand resting on his chest.

“Yeah,” he says stroking her upper arm, leaning down to kiss her soundly.

“Come on, let’s go to bed. I’m freezing now,” she says extricating herself from him, shivering and rubbing her exposed arms, as she walks to the bed.

He turns also, after taking a last look, and dropping the curtain and making his way towards the bed.

“I can heat you up in the same way if you want. Just say the word,” he says, grinning flirtatiously as he pulls back the covers, watching as she settles into the bed, pulling the covers over her. **He really did love to tease her. He knew she loved being flirted with. She had told him she wanted to feel wanted, and that’s what he was doing by constantly pestering her even if it wasn’t going to go anywhere.**

“Jesus, you never let up, do you?” She laughs, turning onto her side, towards him, pulling the covers up to her chin.

He laughs, getting into the bed, and lying on his back.

“Ok, c’mere. I will warm you up and I won’t try anything. I promise,” he says, holding his arm out to her, as she moves towards him, snuggling in. She pulls the covers up over her shoulders before placing it around him. He rubs his hand across her shoulders trying to warm her, as he closes his eyes.

Within a few minutes they are both asleep; completely content.

***

The next morning had been hectic. She had been awoken abruptly with a loud knock on the door, as he continued to snore. It had been Gertie giving them a 7 O’clock wake up call. She had had to nudge him awake as she had got up to get ready, whilst he very slowly and calmly got ready.

_She was nervous. Why was she so nervous? Why did he not seem nervous?_

He had showered; she had applied her makeup and pinned up her hair. She opted for her black studded suit today, with a white ruffled shirt. _Back to work and back to looking professional._ _Perhaps it reflected her morose feeling. She was worried for his health, worried for his return, worried that things would change. But she wouldn’t put that on him, he didn’t need the stress. It could be her head running away with her._

He had come out of the bathroom in his dressing gown whistling, quickly becoming amorous kissing her cheek as she tried to pin on her matching black hat. She forced a smile, unable to remove the feeling of anxiety in the pit of her stomach. She watched in the mirror as he had changed into his dark grey pin striped suit, crisp white shirt, his patterned tie.

When he sat on the bed to put his shoes on, she had raised from the vanity, fully dressed, just short of her suit jacket and dark brown fur stole she had planned on placing over her shoulder. As she had put on her jacket, he had become emotional again, wrapping his arms around the waist of her skirt, leaning down to kiss her softly.

“I just want to thank you. Whatever Saul decides to do today, doesn’t matter because I feel so much better and you’re a massive part of that,” he had told her. She had pulled away shyly, using the excuse of her lipstick before she had collected her clutch and gloves, before leading the way downstairs.

He had eaten his porridge quickly, whilst she had foregone it, smoking a cigarette and drinking a coffee in replacement. _If he had noticed she was off, he hadn’t let on._ He talked incessantly the whole way to the hospital. Talking about the studio, the weather, the streets, the hospital. She merely nodded along to everything he discussed, agreeing every so often when prompted. _Why couldn’t she get rid of this restlessness?_

They had pulled into the hospital, five minutes before he was due for his appointment. They had made their way through the familiar foyer, in the elevator up to the same hallway he had been in before. When she had stepped out of the elevator, she stopped in her tracks, having felt the same doom she had felt on the day she had found out about his heart attack. He had bumped into her back, as she blocked his pathway, trying to move around her. When he had seen the panic on her face, he had taken her hand for the first time in well, maybe ever, encouraging to walk with him up the hallway, gripping her hand comfortingly. _Why had that, the holding of a hand, made her feel so much better? It felt so intimate._

They had seen the young nurse who had greeted them pleasantly and led them to a similar looking waiting room opposite the one she had spent so much time worrying in before. She hadn’t noticed she was kicking her crossed leg, picking at her nails in her seat, until he had placed a hand on her knee. _He had looked so calm. What if they did tests and found he wasn’t improving at all?_ _What if there was no hope for him recovering completely?_

When Saul had come in to greet them, they had both jumped up to greet him in return. He had invited Ace into the next room to begin observations, however, when she had moved to follow them, she had been shocked when Saul had told her to remain in the waiting room.

“Wait, I’m not allowed in?” She asked angrily, looking to Ace for back up.

“Avis, we have a lot of tests to conduct, they will probably take over an hour by the time we get the results back also,” Saul had explained to her kindly.

“Can’t she come in, Saul? She will sit in the corner quietly, won’t you?” **I mean, he wasn’t exactly convinced of that. She had seemed solemn and reflective this morning; had hardly spoke a word all morning. And now she seemed on edge, the kicking of the leg as the number one giveaway. He imagined she would fire a thousand questions at Saul.**

“It’s our standard policy that when we are conducting testing, only the patients can be present to ensure privacy, confidentiality, and avoidance of stress in the case of a bad outcome. There is a lot to do and the rooms are small, Ace, and the more people in the room, the higher a risk of infection not just for you but for other patients,” he explains, turning his attention on Ace.

“Why would there be a bad outcome!? Are you expecting a bad outcome? Fuck your policy! I’m coming in there,” she declares, marching towards the door until Ace stands in front of her, bringing his hands to her arms, stopping her in her tracks.

“No, it’s just our standard policy, Avis,” he hears Saul convey weakly.

“Can you give us a minute, Saul?” He asks as she breathes raggedly, looking wildly up at him. _Why was he stopping her? Didn’t he want her with him?_

Saul nods and leaves the room, “I will be just outside when you’re ready.”

“Ace, you can’t just…” she begins but is interrupted.

“Avis,” he says waiting for her to stop talking, running his hands up and down her upper arms. “There is nothing to worry about. It’s blood tests and blood pressure and boring shit like that.”

“But he said a bad outcome! And confidentiality! What is there to hide?” She shouts, lifting her arm to point at the closed door, her eyes bulging.

“Yeah, because it’s likely that some people are not sticking to the diet, not exercising, and are not being looked after like you have been doing for me. Those people likely would come in here without much improvement. However, I’ve been so much fitter, I’ve been exercising, I’ve been on the stupid diet. I’m fine, so try not to worry,” he reasons, trying to calm her, as she grab his lapels, placing her forehead against his chest and taking a deep breath in. 

“Listen, why don’t you go out for an hour and come back, rather than sit in this room. I will be ready to go when you come back,” he says, bringing his arms around her back, stroking gently.

“No, I don’t want to leave you here. What if you find out something bad and need me?” She begins pulling back, grasping his lapels tighter, looking at him panicked.

“Honey, nothing is going to happen,” he laughs, bringing his lips to kiss her forehead. “Go to the stores on Hollywood Boulevard, get yourself something beautiful. You deserve it.”

She furrows her eyebrows, looking at his chest again, taking a deep breath and looking back up at him.

“I don’t feel right about it.”

“Look either you sit in this tiny room climbing the walls or you go out for an hour, get some fresh air, go into a few stores and come back to find out I’m just fine.”

She thinks for a moment. _He was right. She couldn’t bear to sit in this tiny room thinking about it, she was sure she would suffocate. She could go to the stores; buy some new nightwear she had been planning on getting for when they could finally reunite. See if she could pick him up something._

“All right,” she says, leaning up to kiss him soundly on the lips. She takes a deep breath when she pulls back from him, pulling her suit jacket down, adjusting her stole on her shoulder, looking down. Finally, she looks up as he stands looking at her, watching for her to approach the door when she is ready. She finally walks towards it, silently taking his hand as she passes him, opening the door with the other, as he follows her out.

“You ready?” Saul says, waiting for them calmly by the door.

“Yeah,” he says, leaning down to kiss her cheek, tightening his grip on her hand as he follows Saul, letting go her hand at the last second.

She stays still in the draughty corridor, watching as he follows Saul into a room. He looks back at her, giving her a wink at the last minute and a cheeky grin. She smiles back, looking around the corridor after he has left.

_Come on, Avis. He’s going to be fine. He was right. He had progressed so much in such a short space of time, he was walking around, climbing stairs just fine. They had been going out, he had been swimming laps, doing exercises with Tom. He had been on a strict diet up until his one break last night which Saul had given approval for. He would be fine._

She takes a deep breath and walks towards the lift, ready to do a little shopping. _She would come back in 45 minutes, instead of an hour, just to be sure._

***

He had undergone a series of tests. His bloods had been taken first and foremost, he had been given an ECG, his blood pressure had been taken, he had been quizzed about his exercise and his diet. He was even made to perform some of his exercises to elevate his heart rate so that Saul could monitor his blood pressure, beats per minute, and breathing during exercise and when returning back to normal. **That, he had not expected.** After 40 minutes of being examined and monitored, he changes and settles in a chair in Saul’s office waiting for the doctor to come to give his advice. Looking to his watch, he wonders if Avis was out there yet.

Saul enters the room, holding a clipboard, with a smile on his face.

“Did you see if Avis is in the waiting room yet?” Ace asks him, leaning back in his chair, tired out from having first having to exercise and then redressing into his warm suit.

“No, I don’t think so. Do you want to wait for her to get the results?”

He thinks about it. **He doubted it was bad news, but if it were, it was better coming from him.**

“Nah, just give it to be straight,” he says, fastening his second cufflink.

“Everything is fine,” Saul says smiling. Ace heaves a sigh of relief, _if not just for himself, for Avis’s state of mind._

“The ECG showed improvement. Your blood pressure is better, your heart rate is doing well when resting and when exercising. I telephoned Tom this morning and he gave very positive feedback at how well you’re coming along. Your blood test results will come back within a few days. But you should be fine to return to the studio today. However, for the moment, I only want you to go back half days. Whether that is in the morning or afternoon is up to you. I would recommend whenever you feel most energised, because it might take it out of you.”

“Great! Sounds good,” Ace says putting his hands on his knees, nodding at the good news.

“The work isn’t over yet, Ace, and that’s important to stress. You have made improvements but there is still more to work on. You still need to continue with exercising on a regular basis and I would advise you to continue with Tom for the time being until you are up to a healthy level. It would be advisable to work on losing some weight, which should come with a diet and continued exercise. For now, I would suggest you continue with porridge for breakfast, boiled white rice for your meals, and fruit juice, just for the foreseeable.”

“Wow, wow, yesterday you said I could have a hotdog and now I am only allowed to eat boiled white rice?” He says throwing his arms up, scowling.

“Ace, that was a one off. You need to stick to a diet for the foreseeable. You can maybe have one meal out of the ordinary every few weeks or months, maybe on very special occasions, but for the other 99% of the time, you need to stick to this diet. We discussed this, Ace. You know that going back to your past diet will just lead to another heart attack,” Saul says seriously, staring Ace down.

Ace rolls his eyes, “all right, all right, I get it. What about sex? Can I at least go back to that?” He looks at him expectantly.

“Did you try out the masturbation?” **Well, it wasn’t exactly him but yeah sure.**

“Yeah and it was fine. No issues with breathing or whatever,” he answers, shrugging his shoulders.

“Well, if you’re able to do that and climb stairs and swim laps without breathing issues, you should be able to have sex. But be careful of your… uh… positions. You don’t want to do anything that will put more strain on you. That’s how this all started. Take it easy and make it simple, okay? And stop if you feel too much strain,” Saul reasons with him.

Ace smiles widely. **FINALLY!**

“Okay. I can do that,” he says nodding slowly, a smirk on his lips. **She was gonna get it and he was going to blow her mind. He had been waiting too long for this.**

“What about driving? And alcohol?”

“Still no, to both of them. We will get you back in here next Monday morning and see how you are getting on with being back at work.”

“What about travel?”

“Not yet. I would rather you be near-by in the early stages so if anything goes wrong all your records are near. You probably won’t get to do that for another month or so. Like I said we will continue to monitor you.”

“Okay, that’s fine,” he says disappointedly.

“I’m serious, Ace. You need to take this seriously, all of it,” Saul tells him seriously.

“I will.”

***

She had stuck to her time scale. She had first smoked a cigarette outside of her car to destress and then spent some time in Hollywood Boulevard, going first into the jeweller on Hollywood and Edgemont. She hadn’t been into this one before, but as she was walking towards the _Lady Roses’_ on Hollywood and Alexandria, she had noticed the large window full of jewellery. She looked in the window seeing a bunch of different pieces caught her eye _– for her too._ However, her eyes were drawn towards a set of platinum cufflinks with a mother of pearl square in its centre. She had gone inside, spotting a clerk and buying them immediately. She had also seen a stunning Ruby brooch which she had to have!

She next went to _Lady Roses’_ underwear store. They had some of the finest garments she had ever bought. She wanted some special for tonight though, if they were to be given the go ahead. She didn’t have much time so simply walked around pointing at things, whilst Lady Rose herself instructed the young female attendants to start wrapping them up. She had bought several synched waist corselettes – one in black satin, black lace, ivory, blush pink, and white. _Whilst the freedom of the underwear she wore yesterday was freeing, she wasn’t ready to take the plunge quite yet._ She had bought three suspender belts, and new stockings in black and nude. She had also chosen a short black lace nightdress, a long lilac silk nightdress, and a red satin short slip. However, the most stunning thing of all was the black see-through chiffon dressing gown with black feathered trimming all around it and a tie at the waist. _It was absolutely stunning, and she had to have it. Hell, she would have taken one in every colour if there had been more._

She could easily have bought more, however, having looked at her watch every few minutes the whole time, she hurried the transaction through, two young girls taking the boxes to her car, placing them in the back seat. _Luckily the hospital was only around the corner_ , as she was nearly late. She had paced through the reception again; _the receptionist must think she was constantly in a panic as that was all this woman had ever seen of her._ However, she didn’t care, continuing her scurry, battering the buttons of the elevator. However, when it reached the floor he was on, she was relieved to see him standing outside the door, holding his hat, talking to Saul. She took a deep breath, walking slowly along the corridor. _Just take a deep breath, Avis._

When he heard her heels clicking along the floor, turning around to see her, she forced a smile, upping her pace, towards him.

“Everything is fine!” He declares, holding out his arms to her, beaming.

She lets out a sigh, giving him a reticent hug, as he kisses her temple. _She wasn’t going to become too emotional in front of Saul_.

“Oh! I’m so glad,” she says pulling back, smiling, looking to Saul, as she put her hand in the crook of his bent arm.

“Yeah, he just needs to continue what he’s doing but he will give you all the details. But he’s fine to go back to the studio today,” Saul says smiling.

“Brilliant,” she smiles to Ace. “I should give Dick a call then and let him know we are on our way. Could I use your telephone?” Directing her last question to Saul, who agreeably, gestures to his open office door, allowing her to go in to make the telephone call.

Saul and Ace continue their conversation whilst Avis makes her phone call, she returning after only a few minutes.

They bid Saul farewell, before they begin walking back down the corridor to the elevator with her on his arm.

“So, tell me what happened?”

He pats her hand on his arm with his hand gently.

“He took blood tests which I will get the results of in a few days. But he said the ECG was better, blood pressure showed improvement, heart rate was fine; doing well when both resting and when exercising.”

She listens intently, nodding her head, smiling at the good news, as he rhymes off his results.

“He made me do some exercises so he could measure how my heart rate and breathing recovered!” He declares astonished.

“Really?” She asks incredulously, raising her eyebrows as they step back into the elevator.

“Yeah. And he said Tom said I’m doing fine, and I need to keep doing what I’m doing with the exercise. He wants to change up my diet a bit. I still can’t travel, or drink alcohol, or drive, which is frustrating,” he rhymes off as they exit the elevator, beginning to walk through the foyer.

“But I’m allowed to go back to the studio for half days, and…,” he pauses for dramatic effect, looking around to see if anyone can hear them, waiting until they are over the threshold of the front door.

“We got the go ahead,” he says looking at her, cocking his eyebrows.

“For? For …?” She asks raising her head and eyebrows, eyes bulging, trying to insinuate sex without saying it out loud.

“Yeah,” he says smiling flirtatiously.

“Okay, we can’t talk properly out here. Let’s continue this in the car,” she says, continuing their walk in silence until they are both settled inside the vehicle. 

“So, we can have sex?” She asks bluntly, turning towards him plainly.

“Yeah. He says we can as long as I take it easy and keep my positions simple,” he responds, pausing for a moment and then plunging towards her to kiss her fiercely, wrapping an arm around her waist. _Oh, okay._

She is taken aback, though she responds quickly, moving a hand up behind his head, and placing one on the seat behind her to hold herself up as she is pushed back with the force of his kiss.

She tries to pull away after a moment, still close to his mouth as she breathes, “here? now?”

She sees his eyes are hooded as his grip on her waist tightens, pulling her in the short distance to take her lips again. Her eyes close as she loses herself in the passion of his kiss. However, _it’s 10am. She isn’t going to have sex in a car in a hospital parking lot as their first time back together in broad daylight._

She pulls back again, her eyes still closed, attempting to catch her breath.

“Ace,” she says finally opening her eyes, pushing his shoulders back, breathing deeply, “slow down.”

He opens his eyes, his lips swollen, as he looks at her disoriented, then confused.

“Honey, we don’t want to do this here. Not as our first time since everything reconciled. We haven’t waited this long to have a quick tryst in a car.”

“But we have waited so long already,” he says, tightening his grasp on her waist, looking into her brown orbs.

“I know, but they are waiting for us at the studio and surely you want it to be worth it?” She moves her hand from his neck to his cheek, stroking it softly with her thumb, smiling.

“Yeah,” he sighs, withdrawing from her and looking in the side mirror at his lips, wiping at them.

“You want to head to the studio then?” She asks putting her hand on his thigh, stroking lightly. _She wanted to as much as he, but she hadn’t come this far for a quickie._

“Yeah, will be good to be back,” he says, looking back over to her.

She smiles enthusiastically, reaching over to kiss his lips lightly, then turning on the engine. She has a quick look at her lipstick, _not smeared_. _Well, that was a miracle_ , she thinks as she wipes at her lip’s edges.

The studio is only a five-minute drive away. _The luck of the hospital being so central in Los Angeles._

She smiles when she pulls into the studio entrance seeing all the people waiting to greet him, the noise from their cheers deafening. _The whole studio must be there! He really was admired by so many people._

When he first sees the array of people, he is in shock. **Surely all these people weren’t here for him?**

“Oh my god,” he says flatly.

He can feel himself getting emotional at the cheers and clapping for him that he becomes speechless. **It really was good to be back. His home away from home.**

She pulls around the fountain in front of the gates, parking there as the crowd’s cheers become louder. She smiles looking around, taking in his reaction. _He really did look quite overwhelmed by how loved he was._

She turns of the engine, beginning to get out of the car walking around to him.

He begins getting out of the car also, “OH… this… Oh, my… wow!” He looks around to Avis, excitedly, holding his arms up; she smiles still as she walks towards him.

“Avis, can you believe this?” He asks her, gesturing to the crowd as if she couldn’t see the hundreds of people standing there.

“Oh, I’m so happy to be back!” He declares as she takes his arm; he grasping her hand firmly when she squeezes the crook excitedly, smiling at everyone also.

She is elated for him. _He’s so happy. And look at all of these people._ People begin parting ways to the side, as they begin to walk under the arch into the street towards the main building. _She didn’t realise how far the crowd stretched back until they begin parting._

“Oh, look at the – “, he says smiling to people gesturing his arms out to them almost as a thank you. **He can’t believe how many people are here. Cheering for him, for his return. He is overwhelmed from this reception. He has never seen one like it.**

“You should be pleased,” she starts, interrupting him as she looks up to him adoringly, “there hasn’t been a crowd this size since Eleanor Roosevelt,” she ends looking at all the people in the crowd, smiling.

“Wait, what?” he asks confused.

However, she looks up to him smiling. _Had she not told him about that?_

“Yeah, Eleanor Roosevelt visited and drew a big crowd too,” she says, still smiling at the crowd as they approach the main building leading to the office.

“What was the hell she doing here? Was she not saving the world in the United Nations or something?” He asks still confused and a bit annoyed he wasn’t the only one, though he begins smiling to the crowd again, gesturing for her to climb the few steps before him, as he turned to everyone giving a final wave.

He turns back towards her, giving her his arm again as they enter the building.

“Oh, she just stopped by after that luncheon I gave for her, to cheer her up, remember?” she reminds him, walking towards the lift, saying hi to the usual people as she walks by, he shakes the hands of a few people in passing.

Finally, reaching the elevator, it dings open as soon as she presses the call button as he shakes another hand.

She continues again when the door closes, taking his arm again, “she wanted to come here when she found out I was troubled over the casting of Camille in Meg. Told us about what was happening in the South and how appalling it was. It was very moving actually.”

The elevator door dings, opening when they reach the level. She smiles, _still elated by that reception_.

**He is still reeling from the reception he had had also. The studio was still standing, the people here were still happy, and she seemed to have done a great job in his absence. She deserved a good break now.**

“Avis, I can’t thank you enough,” he says genuinely, looking down to her, as they walk down the corridor to the office, her peering up into his beautiful blue eyes affectionately, “for everything you did whilst I was away.” She looks down laughing.

_She knows she has done a good job deep down, but it was great hearing the compliment from him._

**She truly was a marvel.**

“You kept this place afloat,” he continues, as she steals a glance at him, quickly looking back in front of her.

“You took some chances. I can’t say I always agreed with those chances,” she cocks her head to the side, _I’ll say you didn’t, “_ but, uh, I admire it,” he compliments her honestly, looking back into her eyes, moving his hand onto hers again, tapping it.

“I’m very proud of you,” he says sincerely as she looks at him adoringly. _This is what she had craved for so many years. This moment. Where he was proud of her, where she was useful, where she felt alive, and she was so looking forward to that continuing._

“Thank you, darling. Greenlighting Meg was a difficult decision, but it was the right one,” she says firmly, looking up at him to gauge his reaction. He nods his head; **he supposed he would be the judge of that.**

He looks down to her again as she continues, “I’ve seen the rushes, the film is magnificent.”

Finally, as they get to the doorway, she lets go of his arm so that they can enter Miss Stinson’s outer office.

“Good morning,” Miss Stinson says happily, raising from her seat to greet them. Avis walks ahead smiling, as Ace lifts his hand waving.

“Miss Stinson,” he says happily.

However, Avis stops in her tracks, her face falling when she sees a group of men sitting on the office sofas, including Lon Fucking Silver; watching as they immediately rise at their presence.

“How many times do I have to fire you!” Avis shouts across the room angrily, as Ace notices the room full of men also in their presence.

“Hello, Mrs Amberg,” Lon addresses her with a smirk on his face, “Ace asked me here.” He gives her a smug expression.

She immediately turns to him with a shocked expression. _How could he invite this asshole back here, overriding her? Why hadn’t he told her? He had better fucking explain himself._

**He knew she would react this way, it was why he hadn’t told her he had made the phone call before she had arrived back at the hospital.**

“Avis,” Ace says softly, treading carefully, **he can see she is shocked**. “uh… I’m just gonna talk to the boys for a bit,” he continues gesturing his hands back to the room. **He could play it down for her, so that she didn’t feel like she had to stay.**

 _The boys? So not her?_ She thinks as she looks back to the room full of men.

“Uh, why don’t you go home, and, uh, we’ll celebrate tonight over dinner?”

She looks back at him astonished. _He wasn’t doing this. Tell me, you’re not doing this, Ace, not after everything that’s happened, not after everything was going so well._

**He’s never seen her so expressionless, so quiet. This wasn’t going as he planned. He was beginning to get nervous. He thought she would be happy. Why wasn’t she happy? She didn’t have to stay for the stress.**

“But, uh, no roast beef or anything like that,” he continues nervously, as she purses her lips looking at him and occasionally back to the room, “I… I’m on this new diet the doctor’s got me on. Just rice. All I’m allowed to have is white rice and fruit juice,” he says immediately walking away from her into the room full of his closest advisors. **Was she, hurt? Maybe she was just angry to see Lon. She said they didn’t get on. Regardless of whether she liked Lon or not, he still had to speak to him, the guy was like lawyer and handled everything. He at least needed an update. Surely, she would know that. Maybe if he just got Lon out of her sight, she would feel better.**

 _He didn’t. He wasn’t. He couldn’t be._ She watches after he walks into the room, Lon twiddling his fingers at her as a goodbye. Her mouth falls open. _She was humiliated, in front of him, making it even worse!_ _She was getting dismissed. After all she had done for him, for this studio?_

She moves her mouth to say something, unable to get any words or noise out, just as she sees him abruptly move to shut the doors of the office, closing her out; leaving her standing there like an idiot. She takes a deep sigh in; she’s so shocked she can’t even speak. Has been unable to this whole time.

“All right, gentlemen, let’s get to it. Obviously, I overslept,” she hears him loudly address the room through the large wooden doors she is still staring at, earning a chuckle from his fucking gang of goons!

She takes in another breath, feeling like the air is unable to get to her lungs; so astounded she could cry. She looks up to the ceiling, already feeling herself growing emotional; then looks back at the door listening to their laughter. She is so embarrassed now, she doesn’t know where to look, biting the inside of her mouth, realising that Miss Stinson is sitting behind her, having heard the whole thing.

 _She had to get out of here. She isn’t going to stand here like a fool,_ so begins walking towards the exit.

_How could he do that to her? After all they had been through. She thought she was going to be part of this now. A part of this studio and it’s processes. She thought they would be equals. She was so hurt, so shattered, she could break down into tears._

“Have a good day, Mrs Amberg,” she hears Miss Stinson say kindly behind her.

She rolls her eyes at the notion.

_A good day? How the hell was she supposed to have a good day when everything she had trusted and believed had just been demolished? Had she just assumed? Thinking back, she didn’t remember him expressly saying that they would co-chair, work together from now on. Had she mentioned it? She knew something would change when he came back here, but she didn’t even consider this. But hadn’t he been listening when she had told him how fulfilled she had felt since being in charge of the studio and how it had given her purpose, and that’s all she had ever wanted? To feel important? To feel like she was alive again? And he had gifted her that and now he was just going to snatch it away? Just dismissed her like a piece of garbage in front of all those idiots._

She can feel her hurt, turning into anger rapidly as she continues walking down the hallway.

_God, she was so fucking stupid! He didn’t give a shit about that or her or her feelings! How the fuck did she think he would ever fucking change?! She had been so fucking naïve; had opened up her heart, her feeling, her trust again just to have them shit on! He didn’t see her as a fucking equal, he seen her as a fucking wife; someone to stay home and play house for him. Did he mean all the things he had said over the past few weeks? Did he even love her? You didn’t treat the person you love like this._

She can feel herself grimacing, her anger rising further within her. _Son of a bitch,_ she was about to mutter when she hears the elevator ding, seeing it open up in front of her, revealing Dick and Ellen.

She stares straight ahead. _She had been trained for this; trained for this for the last ten years. She knew how to ward off her emotions; how to be strong in front of others._

She barely hears what Dick says; something about a distribution plan.

_That wasn’t her concern anymore._

_Ace wasn’t going to get the better of her._ _He wanted a dinner. She would give him a fucking dinner!_

She walks directly by Dick and Ellen into the lift, lost in her thoughts.

“Where you going?” She hears Ellen ask her, confused.

She enters the elevator, jabbing at the button, turning now to look at Ellen and Dick, who are staring puzzled, back at her as she answers.

“I’ve been sent home. To make dinner,” she says stonily, looking to each of them, before biting the inside of her lips, as the elevator doors close.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So we have reached the realm of getting back into the TV show.   
> To be clear, I don't own fuck all from Hollywood (2020), nor any of its characters.   
> I simply imagine what happens around the scenes provided and what happens inside their heads.  
> Therefore some of the dialogue was lifted completely from the TV show as well as the acting interpretation of Rob Reiner and Patti LuPone, simply adding my interpretation of what they are thinking when they are expressing and speaking.   
> I love the TV show and the interpretation both actors give, I am a mere peasant, unworthy yet thankful of them in all their glory.


	24. Breakdown

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't own fuck all... bla bla bla... you know the drill

She storms out of the building seething. So many people stop to greet her happily, smiling as she walks out of the building and then out onto the lot entrance determinedly. However, their smiles quickly turn to fear as they watch her storm by them.

_Don’t cry, Avis. Don’t cry. Come on, chin up._

She squares her shoulders back, charging down the walkway she had just gleefully pranced up five minutes ago with him.

_Come on, girl. You’ve done this before. No, she wouldn’t cry. She wouldn’t give him the fucking satisfaction._

She snatches her keys from her purse, slamming her car door behind her, ignoring the security guard at the gate as he tips his hat to her.

She doesn’t remember driving home, her thoughts running rampant.

***

He gets down to business quickly with his team.

“All right, tell me about his bomb we have, _All Hands on Deck._ I like that picture what happened?” He asks sitting down in his comfortable chair behind his desk.

“Well,” Lon starts up, moving to take a seat in front of the desk, “many of our distributors pulled the film. They were facing boycotts when it was announced _Meg_ would be starring a coloured girl.”

Ace holds his hands up in the air, stopping Lon in his tracks.

“Uh, let’s talk about this for a second. A lot of work went into this picture, and I know it’s risky, but I admire that.”

**He was going to defend Avis and the others for the work they had put into _Meg_. Whilst he knew the financial burden it could cause; they had been right about everything they had said in its defence.**

Lon looks at him confused.

“So, you don’t feel that the fag and the two ladies went behind your back?”

 **Wow, the what? Who?** He watches as the advisors sitting behind Lon shift uncomfortably at the mention of the term.

“The fag?” Ace questions confused.

“Dick Samuels,” Lon clarifies nonchalantly.

He was outraged. **How dare Lon spread rumours like that! Did he not realise what that kind of thing could do to a man’s reputation in this busines?**

“Dick Samuels, a fag?” He shouts at Lon angrily, **there was no way**. “No! What are ya talking about? He’s got women hanging all over him. He’s quite the catch!”

He watches as Lon sighs in front of him, “Well, be that as it may, while you were indisposed, sir, the lunatics were very much taking over the asylum.”

He frowns at this. **Did he just call Avis a lunatic?**

Lon, however, does not pick up on this, continuing, “if you release this film, it will destroy the studio. And tarnish the reputation of every picture you have ever made or intend to make. It’s just that simple.”

Avis throws himself back in his chair, flinging his hands up, “come on! You’re overreacting.” **Honestly, it couldn’t be that bad. These guys had always been backward in their thinking.**

However, Lenny pipes up, speaking for the first time.

“Sir, we’ve done the research,” he says kindly, whilst Lon throws down an envelope in front of him.

 **What the hell was this?** He picks it up, attempting to open it as Lon explains.

“ _Meg_ will not play in the South. A hundred and twenty-five theaters have signed a statement saying they will not run the picture, nor any subsequent Ace picture if _Meg_ is released anywhere. We’ll go bankrupt in six months!”

He glances at the documents as Lon speaks.

“All right! So, what do I do?” He asks them, **get to the fuckin point.**

“Burn it.”

“Burn it?” **Are you crazy? The amount of work that has gone into it, the money they would lose from production, from All hands on Deck. There had to be another way.**

“Burn every foot of film. They won’t have anything to point to. They’ll call off the dogs,” Lon explains plainly as Ace thinks. **This was like blackmail. So, he was at the beck and call of the public and ruined if he didn’t follow their wants?**

“You’ll be back on the throne, studio remains solvent, we move forward like nothing ever happened,” Lon finishes.

He rubs his finger against his upper lip thinking. **He couldn’t do that. What about all the work Avis and everyone else on this lot had put in? What about the sacrifices they had made? They had burning crosses at their front doors for Christ sake. They couldn’t just give in. Could they? But he had spent his whole life building up this studio. Providing jobs for so many people. Building a life and a home for his family.**

He fidgets, moving his hand to tap his hand. **Avis wasn’t kidding when she said this was a hard decision. How do you choose between finance and morality? Avis would kill him if he turned it around but maybe it was for the best? He doesn’t know. But he does know one thing.**

“I want to see the movie,” Ace says pushing his hands on the desk to stand up.

“Wh- what?” Lon baffles, standing up also. The team of men sitting on the sofas all stare at each other astonished. **Obviously, Lon had been expecting a straightforward agreement. Don’t think so, pal. He had promised Avis he would at least watch it and god-dammit, he would keep that promise. He owed her that at least.**

“I am going to go see the movie. I am not making any decisions right now, and if you have an issue with that, you know where you can go,” he says mockingly slowly to ensure that they all first off, they hear him clearly, and secondly, they remember who’s boss.

**Lon really was getting a little too big for his boots.**

He storms by the group of men, throwing the doors open.

“Miss Stinson! Call Harry! Tell him I’m going to the viewing room now and I want the reel of _Meg_ ready for me to see it,” he orders before turning his back on her and storming down the hallway. His team thankfully do not follow.

“Right away, Mr Amberg!” She shouts to him, already moving the rotary with the telephone held to her ear.

He barges down the corridors towards the viewing room, not paying attention to anyone. **Bankrupt in six months? Surely not. Where did they get these figures from? 125 theatres? He can’t believe so many people were against it just because a coloured girl was the lead. Well he can, he had anticipated it but still, that was a lot. And not just boycotting that movie, but every subsequent movie. Jesus!**

He bursts into the viewing room he had only been in a few days ago with Avis.

Harry is already present, sitting in a seat at the front.

“Hiya kid, how you doin’?” Harry asks, taking a cigar out of his mouth, blowing a huge cloud of smoke.

“Hi Harry, you got the reel ready for me?” Ace asks, climbing the stairs, plopping into his usual chair.

“Yeah, it’s up there. Worked on it all of yesterday. Dick said you wanted to see it. It’s not the final edit mind you,” he explains, standing and walking slowly up the stairs.

“Yeah, whatever. I just need an idea,” Ace responds, waving his hand in the air, clasping his hands after and staring at the blank screen.

Ace huffs, looking at the opening credits, still very unsettled in his seat. He takes the cigarette case out of his inside pocket, moving one out and lightening it.

When he first sees Camille on the screen, he realises it isn’t so bad. **It’s not like people weren’t used to seeing coloured people on a screen. They had been on screens for years, just not playing much other than the maid’s part. Hell, Hattie McDaniel had won an Academy Award for Christ sake. Surely the world was changing. Though he remembered that she wasn’t even allowed to go to the premiere and had only got into the award ceremony on a special favour. The world really did have to change, it was ridiculous.**

Then he sees Claire’s first scene. **She wasn’t so bad. He and Avis had really underestimated her. For her first picture, it wasn’t a bad debut. He could probably make her a good career. She was really was quite a good actress.** Then he sees Jack. **He really was a heartthrob. Women and girls would go crazy for him. He had the look, and the innocence about him that made him perfect for the role.**

However, he shakes himself out of his thoughts, analysing every moment, trying to just watch the film as an audience member. Before he even realises it, he’s enthralled. He becomes invested in Meg’s heartache, her depression. **He remembers feeling that way.** **He remembers how it felt to keep trying in Hollywood and get rejected. How he had had to work harder and tougher, and how sometimes it had got him down.**

He finds himself even more invested when Meg is at the top of the Hollywood sign ready to jump. He can feel himself moving forward in his seat, wanting to shout himself to tell her not to do it. However, when Jack’s character starts to speak, attempting to talk her off the ledge, he feels himself relaxing, getting emotional. He can feel the relief in his body when she climbs down from the sign, into Jack’s waiting arms. **His wasn’t how it ended; Peg had jumped.** His emotions build up again when they begin embracing and kissing.

“Let’s get out of here! We have a whole life to live.”

**This young guy, his love had given her hope again. Not to jump off the ledge, but to continue living her life. It was inspiring; a great message.**

As he hears the orchestra play, watching as their foreheads remain together, he can feel his emotions surging through the roof.

When the ‘The End’ comes up on the screen, he comes back to the room and back to his reality. He sits still contemplating the movie.

**He could cry, it was a beautiful movie. One of the best pictures he has ever seen. A truly moving piece. They had done a good job; he couldn’t deny that. It could make them fortunes as well as putting them in the history books not for being the first to break the rules, but for being a true masterpiece. Camille was wonderful. She truly had talent and played the role magnificently, captivating him into the story from the word go. She truly did deserve the role. Avis had been right. They all had. You hardly even remembered her colour and the controversy of it by after the first five minutes, you just got used to it. He had been so drawn in by the whole thing.**

When the lights come back up in the room, the projector turned off, he still doesn’t move.

**What was he going to do? Yeah, the movie was a masterpiece, but the truth is, it would never be recognised for that because so many people would be so against it, they wouldn’t even enter the studio to give it the time of day. The studio would go under within six months. All of the people in this building right now, including all those in that movie would be out of a job; ruined for their involvement alone. Jesus Christ, he didn’t know what to do.**

Harry comes back into the room, moving slowly.

“Pretty great, isn’t it?” He croaks out, nodding as he stands on the spot with his hands grasping his braces. 

“Yeah, it’s really good,” Ace says sitting still, looking into the distance.

“Let me say one thing, son. Don’t do something stupid. I’ve seen too many pieces of garbage come through here, but that,” he says pointing to the blank screen, “is a hit.” He points to the ceiling, punctuating his message, then turns back into the booth, leaving Ace alone.

Ace takes a deep breath, finally standing. **He would call Avis, then go find Dick.**

***

When he gets back up to his office, he approaches Miss Stinson.

“Miss Stinson, can you get a hold of Dick Samuels? Ask him to meet me in the canteen in 10 minutes? And can you call down to the canteen and ask them to occupy a table for us, and make me some plain, boiled, white rice?”

“Yes, Mr Amberg,” she agrees, picking up the telephone.

He moves to walk away, “I’m going to make a phone call, so I don’t want to be disturbed, all right?”

“Yes, Mr Amberg,” she smiles.

He moves into his office, thankful that the group of guys weren’t sitting waiting for him, closes the doors over and moves over to his desk.

He picks up the telephone and moves the rotary to call the house.

**She had seemed a bit off, before she had left this morning. He hopes she’s all right. She probably wanted to stick around to see if he was okay, but she needed a break too!**

“Hello, Amberg residence,” he hears Gertie politely say down the telephone.

“Gertie! Is Mrs Amberg there?” He says enthusiastically.

He hears Gertie hesitate, “uh, no Mr Amberg.”

“She’s not home?” He asks, **maybe she had gone shopping.**

“Uhm, no, Mr Amberg. She’s home. She just went upstairs to lie down, sir,” she states, still sounding reserved.

“Oh, uhm, all right. When she wakes, can you ask her to give me a call?”

“Yes, Mr Amberg,” Gertie sighs in relief.

“And tell her she doesn’t have to come and collect me. I will get one of the drivers to bring me back. I should probably be home just after 3pm.”

“Yes, Mr Amberg.”

“All right. Thank you, Gertie,” he says hanging the telephone on the hook.

**Lying down? She had been pretty antsy this morning. Maybe she had exhausted herself. Well, she deserved a rest. He knew she wouldn’t want to stick around here all day.**

He sits down picking up the petition that Lon had handed him earlier. He looks down the list of all of the theatres that have signed the petition. **Not one of them that he hadn’t expected. Was he willing to take the risk? He didn’t even know yet.**

***

He finds Dick in the canteen, moving across to join him.

“Hey!” Dick says as Ace sits in front of him.

“All right, Dick. How you doin’?” He asks, moving his chair closer to the table.

“Fine, fine. The doc gave you the go ahead then?”

“Yeah, clean as a whistle,” he smiles awkwardly. **Was Dick really… like that? He had never considered it. Surely not. If anything, he always thought there was something between him and Ellen, though her escapades with Ernie had put a nail in that coffin.**

He looks at one of the waiters, gesturing for his attention. When the waiter comes over, he is firm.

“Fruit juice, please. Whatever you have. Apple preferably. And I ordered ahead,” he states stiffly. 

“Yes, Mr Amberg. It’s just coming,” the waiter smiles kindly.

“You want anything?” He gestures to Dick, before the waiter walks away. The waiter turns his attention to Dick.

“No, I’m good. Already ordered,” he says smiling politely to the waiter, before he walks away.

“So, that’s good that you got the clean bill of health. How’s Avis feel about it? Ellen and I saw her briefly this morning when we were on our way up to the meeting room. She said she was heading home to start dinner?” Dick asks, fishing for more information.

“Yeah, she’s happy with it. She needs a break away from here, ya know?” Ace states, as the waiter approaches with Ace’s fruit juice, placing it down, whilst another, approaches behind with two plates.

“Mr Samuels,” the waiter nods, placing the delicious looking dish down in front of Dick. Ace stares at it, hungrily.

“Here you are, Mr Amberg,” the waiter says placing down his dish, “your rice.”

The waiter takes a step back as Ace looks down at the dish.

**He can’t stop himself. His stress level is through the roof; he couldn’t stomach a plate of fuckin’ rice.**

“I can’t eat this shit,” Ace scoffs. The waiter panics, beginning to move the dish away.

“Get me a brisket, uh, some of those, uh, cheesy potatoes, and uh, a lemon meringue pie,” he directs throwing his hands around, as Dick watches on huffing.

“Right away,” the waiter says, walking away with the dishes.

He looks up to Dick, seeing his facial expression.

“One meal’s not going to kill me,” he reasons shaking his head at Dick.

Dick looks away, sighing. He felt it was time to approach the elephant in the room.

“All right, before you do anything,” Dick begins, “I want you to see the picture. I know it is not your taste…”

However, Ace cuts him off before he can finish, “I saw it.”

Dick is taken aback.

“It’s great,” Ace declares, still impressed.

“Fantastic,” Dick responds, tapping the table, “so you’re going to release it.”

“Well, I…” Ace begins hesitantly, “I haven’t made up my mind yet.”

Dick remains silent, tensing his jaw, nodding slightly. Ace can see this isn’t the answer he’s looking for. Dick takes his glasses off, bending his head to press his brow into his hand, then pulls back just as quickly.

“All right,” he says beginning to put his glasses back on, “let me help you,” he says clasping his hands in front of him.

“If you don’t release this picture, I will resign.”

Ace draws his head back, looking away. **He hadn’t been expecting that.** **He’s surprised by Dick’s bravery.**

However, Dick continues, “and I will give an interview to every journalist who will take my call and tell them what went down here and how and why.”

Ace is taken aback. **How could Dick threaten him like this? Who did he think he was?**

“I will be kind to Avis. I will not be kind to you.”

“After all I’ve done for you?” Ace leans forward angrily, hissing at him.

“Fuck off!” Dick scoffs at him angrily, drawing the attention of those sitting around them. “After all I’ve done for you!” He mimics Ace angrily. “What have you done for me, except take every ounce of credit for my work?”

Ace sits bitterly seething, staring at him.

“You never trusted me, you never listened to a thing I said!” Dick shouts, tensing bitterly.

“I defended you!” Ace declared furiously. **He feels betrayed. How could Dick say all of this!** “I defended you when everybody was calling you a fag!” He shouts, his voice echoing throughout the canteen.

Dick scoffs, looking at him.

“Really? How noble,” Dick says sarcastically, looking away.

However, he turns to look back at Ace, building up all the confidence he has within him. “Well guess what, Ace? I am a fag!” He declares loudly.

Ace raises his eyebrows, trying not to look around him obviously, moving his eyes from side to side to see if anyone had heard. **Doesn’t he realise this is social suicide?** **Career suicide?**

However, Dick continues speaking.

“I just… I hid it all these years because I was afraid,” he begins shaking his head from side to side, “I am not afraid anymore.”

He pauses, confidently declaring, “I’ve met someone. I love him, and I’m happy for the first time.”

Dick sighs, looking away, blinking rapidly, as Ace lifts his hands. **Does Dick really think he gives a shit if he is gay? He doesn’t give a shit about that. He’s glad he’s happy. Obviously, from Dick’s face, he needs to explain this.**

“Dick…”

However, Dick cuts him off, “I’m going to be in your office at 10am tomorrow, letter of resignation in hand,” he affirms, standing up from his chair and pushing it in, as Ace looks on shocked.

“You release _Meg_ , you might just bankrupt the studio. You pull it, I’m coming after you,” he says pointing at him finally and turning his back and walking out of the room.

Ace sits there astonished, looking at the space Dick had just left.

**What the hell was going on here!?**

**He had told him he hadn’t made a decision. Why was Dick acting this way? Threatening him? Blackmailing him? Did everyone really have that little confidence in him?**

He sits still, looking around the room realising that everyone around him had heard the conversation and were trying not to look at him. He felt it best to stay put and not make a scene by storming out also. **Business as usual.**

The waiter comes over and places the huge meal in front of him, including the lemon meringue pie.

He looks down at it, **it really does look sensational, but he didn’t come this far. To fuck it up now because he had been stressed out, would be stupid.**

The waiter stands next to him, waiting for his approval.

“I’m really sorry, but can I get the rice back?” He says weakly, with a sigh.

“Of course, Mr Amberg,” the young guy says, quickly taking both plates away.

“Thank you,” he says quietly, putting his elbows on the table, clasping his hands in front of him, placing them hard against his lips.

**What the hell was he going to do?**

**He had two choices.**

**Release the movie, lose money in the South, make money in the North. Make a difference and begin social change, but the studio could go down in six months. But if it was a hit, it could make a stupid amount from the hype. He had seen it happen before.**

**Don’t release the movie, go on as he had releasing mediocre movies, lose Dick who if he was honest was the mastermind behind most of the movies here. Then deal with the backlash of the bad publicity of coloured people and their sympathisers never going to see another movie from the studio. That could likely sink the studio also.**

**It really seemed like this was the end of his studio either way. He had been successful, and Avis had been right, they both would be fine. They would be able to live off the wealth they already had.**

**How did he want to leave this world? What did he want his legacy to be? Go out being a villain of Hollywood as the person he wasn’t? Looking like a fucking racist? Because the other option was to go out being bankrupted as the only person willing to make a stance and make a difference? And then there was Avis to consider. How would she feel if he didn’t release it? Would she think of him differently? There was no doubt she wouldn’t be happy. Especially when the very thing she had approved had been so good. He really hadn’t given her enough credit. What if she left him because he put that bullshit before what was right? In a different world he would proudly release that movie. It was the right thing to do.**

**He knew where his mind was leading. Where his decision was leading.**

The waiter approaches him with the boiled rice again, sitting it down in front of him, waiting for his approval for the third time.

“Thank you,” he says, picking up his fork. He sighs, moving his fork into the rice and taking a bite of the tasteless meal.

***

When she arrives home, she turns on the engine, taking a moment just sitting behind the wheel grasping it.

_She felt numb. Distraught really. She can’t believe what had happened. How could he do that to her? Dispose of her so easily. She had spent so many years wanting to feel alive again, to feel like she had mattered and within the space of twenty seconds he had taken it away again. She had finally had some independence, some autonomy, something important to do, and now it was gone. Because of him. Her husband._

She can hear her heart wrench as her eyes start to fill. She hears a car honk, looking up quickly, she sees her neighbour leaving their driveway, giving her a wave.

She puts on a fake smile, waving eagerly. _She was too exposed here. She had to get inside._

She opens the car door, stepping out, seeing all of the packages in the back seat as she slams the car door shut, reminding her of what she had bought the clothing for. _Well, that wasn’t happening now. How had she fooled herself into feeling so hopeful? Buying underwear to impress her husband for a night of passion. Feeling so loved and hopeful, felt so foreign now. How had that only been an hour ago?_

She shakes her head, moving quickly into the house.

She sees Gertie is dusting the table next to the stairs when she enters the house, slamming the door behind her.

“Mrs Amberg!” Gertie greets her in surprise, “I didn’t think you would be home so soon!” She says moving to her, waiting for orders.

“It’s all right Gertie,” she says weakly, holding her hand up. “I’m going up to my room to rest. There, uhm,” she hears her voice choke as her emotions rise again. She coughs, trying to choke them back, “there are some packages in the back of the car if you could bring them in.”

“Yes, Mrs Amberg,” Gertie says softly, noticing the emotion in Avis’s voice. She instantly opens the door, moving out to the car.

“Thank you,” she whispers, looking around the foyer. She looks to the dining room, then twists herself to look at the living room. _How was she supposed to go back to this life? Sitting around the house all day. Doing nothing. Wasting her life away? At the studio she had purpose, but here, what did she have?_

She notices the alcohol on the cart in the living room. She walks towards it, grabbing a bottle of Scotch, taking it’s stopper off and pouring a healthy glass. She picks it up and swigs it back, swallowing it in one go; gasping as it burns down the back of her throat. She looks up at the ceiling. _What was she going to do?_

She looks back down to the cart, grabbing a bottle of vodka and a crystal tumbler, and moves quickly upstairs towards the bedroom.

When she gets there, she throws her purse onto the chaise lounge, her fur stole closely following it as she kicks her heels off. She moves to put the bottle of vodka and tumbler onto her bedside table as she unpins her hat, frisbeeing it towards her vanity table; watching as it knocks over a few bottles of nail varnish to the floor. _She doesn’t care._

She moves to aggressively pull off her suit jacket, next undoing the upper buttons of her shirt. She moves to pour another healthy portion of vodka now; taking a huge gulp of it, as she feels pleasure from its burn down her throat to her stomach. _She can’t cope with this. It was what she feared from the moment things started going well. She knew it wouldn’t last and she was right to be cautious. Stupid fucking Avis!_ She takes another gulp of the vodka; throwing her head back after as it hits the spot.

She hears a knock on the door as Gertie enters.

“Mrs Amberg, I couldn’t get all of the packages myself, so I asked John to help. Is it all right if he comes in?”

“Yeah, that’s fine,” Avis says weakly as she drains the remainder of the glass.

Gertie, beckons John in, as she watches Avis down the remainder of the vodka.

“Just put them over there, John,” Gertie says pointing to the chaise lounge. He moves in swiftly, putting the packages down, as Gertie follows him slowly, still watching Avis as she now pours another glass of vodka.

When John puts the packages down, he looks to Gertie for what to do next. She gestures with her head for him to leave the room, her eyes bulging. He does so swiftly, as she puts the packages down also, watching as Avis plunks herself down on the edge of the bed.

“Would you like for me to put these away for you, Mrs Amberg?” She asks gently.

“No, Gertie. I will do it later,” she says quietly, moving the hem of her skirt up, unclipping the stockings and removing each one quietly.

Gertie nods, silently; trying to think of something to do.

“Would you like me to run you a bath?” Gertie suggests softly.

Avis holds the second stocking in her hand, having thrown the other onto the ground, her eyes closed, looking up to the ceiling.

“Yeah, that would be great,” she says quietly, her eyes becoming filled again. She screws her eyes up, her face grimacing as she tries to hold the tears back.

Gertie moves quickly by her into the bathroom, seeing Avis becoming progressively upset. She closes the door, leaving it ajar to give Avis some privacy. She had seen Avis upset on many an occasion. The woman was proud and protective of herself. She never wanted anyone to know or acknowledge she was upset. She had learned that quickly in the early years when she had tried to offer comfort with a frosty, aggressive reception.

Avis opens her eyes, her vision bleary from tears. She brings her hands up to wipe at them. _She had to pull it together. She doesn’t want Gertie to see her like this._ She stands quickly, reaching behind her to undo the clasp and zip of her skirt, shimmying out of it and kicking it across the floor. She sits back down, moving to the shirt to undo its buttons, and throwing it across the bed when she has extracted her arms from it. She sits silently, only in her underwear and shift dress, her fists clenched, pressing solidly into the bed on either side of her thighs.

_Was this pain in chest, this feeling in her stomach ever going to leave her? She felt sick. Felt like she was never going to be normal again._

When Gertie comes into the bedroom, she looks up quickly.

“That’s your bath drawn, Mrs Amberg,” Gertie smiles sweetly.

_She recognises that look from Gertie. Sympathy. She hates it. Gertie had been her constant for twenty years. Knew her every whim and had kept her every secret. Gertie knew her needs before she did, usually. She had put up with a lot from Avis. The tantrums, her moods, her drunkenness. And she was such a sweet woman. Could never do enough for you._

“Thank you, Gertie,” she whispers, looking down.

“Can I get you anything else, Mrs Amberg?” Gertie asks, her hands clasped in front of her.

“No, Gertie. I, I don’t want to be disturbed for the rest of the day. No phone calls. No visitors. I will be down for dinner later but make me a steak. Mr Amberg is to have boiled white rice only,” she says more forcefully, looking up at Gertie. _She looks her right in the eye. They have an understanding. She doesn’t say, Gertie doesn’t ask. Because Gertie likely already knows the answer._

“Yes, Mrs Amberg,” Gertie says kindly, moving towards the door.

“Thank you, Gertie,” she says genuinely, looking up at her. Gertie looks back, and nods, smiling, before she exits and closes the door.

Avis looks back around the room once Gertie has left.

She sees the array of games she had bought him sitting on top of her dresser. She screws her eyes up, reaching her hand back over to the bottle of vodka. She opens her eyes, about to take it when she sees the radio.

_Everything had been going to well. It was all going to change now._

She moves her hand over to turn it on, the dial already on the radio station she had turned it to yesterday. It plays soft music.

_God, how was she going to get through this day?_

She stands up abruptly, moving to the telephone to pull out the wire so no one can call her and then grabs at her shift, throwing it over her head, allowing it to drop onto the floor. She picks up the bottle of vodka and empty tumbler, beginning to walk into the bathroom. She sees the full bath, covered in bubbles, her favourite scent protruding her nostrils, steam radiating from the water. She puts the glass on the wooden panel sitting across the bath and the bottle on the floor, moving to unfasten the clasps at the front of her corselette, pushing it forcefully to the floor. When she is no longer constricted, she steps into the bath, lying back carefully, her head resting against the edge of the bath.

She takes a deep breath, trying to rid her head of thoughts, listening to the music coming from the bedroom.

_What had happened?_

_So, he had sent her home. She had expected them to work together. Why did she expect that? She thought he had seen her as his equal?_

_He had said so much to her over the past two weeks. He said he cared for her and didn’t want to hurt her, but then here he was, falling at the first hurdle. He had thoroughly embarrassed her in front of Lon and those other idiots. He had diminished her and made her feel as though she was nothing. Just a little wife with no brain when she had done so much for him and his studio. Did he think that of her? But he had told her that he knew she was formidable and intelligent? Why were his actions now and then so different?_

_Had this whole thing been an act? He had declared him love for her. Had been chasing her to make love to him constantly in the past few days alone. They had more or less made love, not in the act itself but they had taken care of each other whilst expressing their love for one another; that was more or less the same thing. Maybe he had only done that because he knew it was what she wanted to hear; because she wanted to be wanted and well she was the only one around to give him what he wanted. He had told Jeanne what she had wanted to hear. Was he manipulating her also to get what he wanted? Just to get his kicks? To get an orgasm? Then had he planned to go back to his normal life when he got back to the studio? Had he not wanted her? Was she not good enough for him?_

She begins to cry. _How was she back here? Back to this uncertainty? She thought they was past this. How could he betray her like this? He had been so cold when he had dismissed her. He had closed the door in her face, allowing her to stand there hurt. That’s what she was. Hurt. She was so hurt. So distraught._

She hears Glenn Miller come on the radio.

 _No, she couldn’t deal with that right now._ She gets up abruptly from the bath, grabbing a towel to wrap around her, as she walks into the bedroom, battering the radio to switch it off. She breathes raggedly, moving to sit on the edge of the bed, pulling the towel tightly around her.

She hunches over, putting her head in her hands.

_She didn’t want to think about this. She had spent so many years building up her walls, so she never had to feel this way again; to avoid how broken she used to feel. How had she demolished those walls so quickly and easily that she was struggling to build them back up now. Because she was pathetic. So pathetic that she would let her guard down when he shows her a modicum of affection._

She begins crying again, sobbing into her hands.

_She loves him. She loves him so much that she can barely stand it. Did he really not love her back? Had he really lied about this whole life they had been discussing for the past week? Did he not want to travel the world with her? Spend his days relaxing by a pool with her? Or was he really that fickle? That he only wanted what was in front of him at that point in time? I mean, he seemed to think he was fine without her. He didn’t need her around. He had dismissed her at the doctor’s office this morning. He didn’t want her with him then. And her being the idiot she was went and bought him a gift instead. And then he didn’t want her at the studio. Was it just so he could overturn everything she did, whilst he jested with Lon how stupid she was for greenlighting Meg? How could he do this to her? Why had she fucking let him?_

She can feel her anger building, her sobs still breaking through. She stands, wiping her eyes aggressively. She moves to her dresser, taking out the first nightgown she sees, throwing the towel aside, and quickly putting her nightgown on. She storms into the bathroom, snatching the tumbler and the bottle from the floor. She pours another drink, knocking it back as she walks back into the bedroom. She pours another drink, slamming the bottle onto the bedside table as she begins pacing up and down the room clutching the glass.

_He doesn’t give a shit about me. About our life. About my fucking feelings._ She takes another gulp of her drink, wincing at its taste. She can feel herself becoming tipsier, her head becoming lighter. _He only cares about himself. He has only ever given a shit about himself and his dick. He fucks anything that moves. He was probably fucking a young girl already now that Saul has given him the go ahead._

“That fucking ASSHOLE!” She shouts loudly, to no one, as she downs the rest of her drink. She walks back over to her bedroom table, pouring another healthy portion.

 _How could he do that? He told her he loved her._ She begins crying again, dropping onto the side of her bed, battering her glass onto the bedside table. _She had believed him,_ she sobs harder. _Why had she fucking believed him? Why had she opened herself up to him? She was so FUCKING STUPID!_

She could feel her breathing becoming more ragged as her sobs intensified, her heart rate increasing. She grasps at the middle of her empty chest, clutching as though her breaking heart was sitting on top of it; as if clutching her poor heart would heal it and fix everything. She falls back onto her pillow, her sobs unable to be heard anymore, just gasps of breath as her heart breaks. She brings her knees up to her chest, attempting to protect herself from all the harm she should have seen coming.

_What was she supposed to do now? How could she possibly continue as if nothing had ever happened? How could she go back to her life as if they hadn’t had two weeks of complete bliss? How could she look him in the eye as though she wasn’t completely in love and devoted to him? She couldn’t. That was the answer. She just couldn’t. So, what was she going to do? She had nothing. No one._

Her silent sobs continue, until her voice returns, her moans echoing in the room. The loud crying begins again, as she begins to realise how hysterical she is becoming, her breathing becoming more and more ragged; she feels she can’t breathe.

_Come on, Avis, baby. Breathe. Just breathe._

“Just breathe, Avis,” she shouts to herself as she tries to force calm breaths through her uneven gasps.

After several minutes of trying to get her breathing under control, she begins to feel numb, her head spinning. From the alcohol or the whole situation, she has no idea. She lies there silently, her breathing returning to normal, her body jerking, tears escaping her eyes. She doesn’t have the energy to wipe them away. She stares at the wall next to his side of the bed, unable to get the energy to do anything else.

_She had to accept it. She had to accept that it was her fault. She should have known nothing was had changed and nothing would be different. She should have known it was too good to be true._

She winces at the thought, tears running down her face freer. _It’s still too raw. She isn’t willing to accept it yet._

She looks down from the wall, seeing his side of the bed; she closes her eyes quickly and firmly, tears spilling out again.

 _She had to go to sleep. She didn’t want to be conscious anymore. She didn’t want to think about it anymore_. She was exhausted; both her body and mind from the stress of the whole thing. She kicks her legs against the covers, pushing them down with her feet and grasping at the edge at the top to push them down so she can muster all of her energy to move underneath them. When she finally gets underneath them; she brings them up around her head to hide herself from her surroundings. She bunches up the covers that are not around her, throwing her leg around them, hugging them to her desperately for comfort. Sleep comes to her quickly; alcohol and exhaustion being a brilliant sleeping remedy.


	25. I Want to Try Again...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't own fuck all... bla bla bla.. you know the drill

He comes home just after 3pm as he said he would. When he walks in the front door, the house was eerily quiet.

**He still hasn’t made a decision for definite, though he is strongly swaying towards just going for it. All of the arguments sway towards doing the right thing, though he would miss the studio. But perhaps this was what he needed. If the studio went under, he could spend the remainder of his life relaxing. Travelling with Avis; enjoying the world and what it had to offer.**

Gertie arrives from the dining room, her face stoic.

“Mr Amberg,” she says, nodding to him.

“Hi Gertie, where is Mrs Amberg?”

“I checked on her an hour ago. She is still asleep,” Gertie says flatly.

**She was still asleep? Jesus.**

“Oh ok, I will go and see if she is still asleep. I’m going to do some work in my study. Could you get some fruit juice and stick it in there?” He asks politely.

“Yes, sir,” she says, walking away abruptly.

**What the fuck was her problem?**

He walks up the flight of stairs. **He missed Avis today. He was ready to wrap his arms around her and never let go. He understood what she meant now when he said how stressful the decision was. She had really made the right one when he thought about it. He was looking forward to their night also.**

He opens the door to the bedroom, edging his head around the door. He sees a lump lying on the bed submersed in covers, her back to him he supposes from her outline. **Is she still asleep?** He stands silently for a moment, his heartbeat becoming more obvious in his chest. He looks around the room, seeing everything strewn across the room. Her clothing, a towel, two nail varnish bottles on the floor. He then sees the vodka and glass on her bedside table. **What had happened here? She wasn’t usually this untidy. And the vodka? What was she drinking for?** He hears her soft breathing, guessing she is still sleeping.

But he wants to check, so he whispers, “Avis?” into the room.

No response. **She’s sleeping.**

He nods, backing out of the room, closing the door gently.

***

She wakes up, disoriented, her head banging. _How long had she been sleeping?_

She moves the covers away from her face, seeing the sun blaring through the curtains, her eyes cowering as they attempt to adjust. _What day was it?_

She closes her eyes, sighing back into the pillow. _Her head is thumping._ Then it all comes flooding back. _The studio. The dismissal. Ace. The bath. The vodka. The tears. The breakdown._ All of it.

She moans, bringing her hand up to her head; eyes still closed. She rolls over onto her back, extracting her stiff legs down to stretch them out. She moans again at the pain it brings.

_Well, that had been very intense. She is still hurt, and her head is aching, but she feels better from having got it all out. She hadn’t cried like that in years._

She opens her eyes, looking at the wall facing the bottom of her bed. She sees her painting, donning the wall next to her vanity. ' _A Jewish Wedding'. John must have put it up on the wall whilst they were out this morning._ She smiles, _it was truly beautiful. It had been a beautiful, thoughtful gift._

She closes her eyes again. _Surely, he couldn’t buy her such a beautiful gift without loving her. Why would he go to the effort? He would surely just buy her a stupid, expensive necklace if he didn’t. Well, he had bought her a necklace, but it was neither stupid nor expensive. It was priceless to her. It meant so much to her. Why would he go to those lengths to give her something she had always wanted, from a memory she hadn’t discussed in fifteen years if he didn’t adore her?_

She sighs deeply, _she might have gotten ahead of herself earlier. Let her emotions get the better of her._ _She been overwhelmed like that before but it had been a long time since. And he_ _might be a lot of things. Obtuse and insensitive being two big ones, but he was no actor. He was a businessman. She had believed everything he said before in the moment. She had seen how jealous he had become over Jack and Ernie; that couldn’t be faked. His anger, his passion about it. He couldn’t fake that. He was transparent at the best of times. She had seen his passion for her, his erections at the very least when she was near. That couldn’t be faked either. He had taken care of her when she had been drunk the other night. If he didn’t care he would have berated her as he used to, not cared for her._

She opens her eyes to look at the painting again.

_So, why had he dismissed her? Why had he made her feel so stupid? He might love her, but did he want to keep her down? Surely not. Did he want her to be just a wife? Had he even considered that she wanted to stay at the studio? They hadn’t discussed it, that she knew. He had shouted at her months ago saying her job was to take care of the house and not the studio. Was he just being a typical chauvinist and expecting them to go back to those roles? Maybe she should just speak to him. That’s how they had gotten into all the past bullshit in the first place; by not communicating. They had spent 10 years in that; she wasn’t doing it again. But, why did he have to be so fucking obtuse and not realise that she would want to be useful as she had been, as she had told him she had felt in the past few months? Why did she have to spell everything out? Why did he have to be such a fucking MAN!?_

She could feel herself getting angrier again.

_She could speak to him, but she wanted to punish him first. Regardless of whether he loved her or wanted her to stay home or was obtuse or whatever; he had embarrassed her! He had belitted her! In front of his moronic cronies. In front of LON FUCKING SILVER! That was a line that could not be crossed. That was something that she was not going to let him away with easily! So, she would play wife for tonight and if he thought she was going to fuck him, HE COULD FUCKING DREAM ON!_

_She knew Ace. And she knew that he was struggling with this shitty diet. She would punish him by being the best by-the-fucking-book wife he could ever have and that would drive him fucking nuts. She had been a kind, caring, empathetic wife until now. She would show him what it would be to have a by the book housewife and he would soon hate it!_

She looks to her watch. _4.05pm. She could call Saul and find out what his full diet was. Find out if there was something even more disgusting, she could hit him with._ She laughs out loud at the thought. She moves quickly to reach for the telephone, her head bursting at the movement. She groans at the feeling, moving slower to pick up the telephone, rotating the numbers in.

***

The phone call with Saul went better than she ever could have imagined.

 _Steamed Cauliflower?_ She laughs out loud at the thought. _He hated cauliflower. Made him ill every time he eats it. It might be a good night after all._

She moves to the bathroom to look at her face. _Holy shit. Swollen and covered in makeup._ She washes her face of all the makeup, then dabs her face with cold water, trying to reduce its swelling. She takes painkillers from the medicine cabinet, moving to the bedroom to grab the tumbler she had brought up earlier. Grimacing at the smell of the vodka, she throws it down the sink, filling the glass up with water after rinsing it a few times. She throws the pills into the back of her mouth, washing them down swiftly. Noticing the full bath behind her in the reflection of the mirror, she moves to pull out the stopper, draining its water.

She moves into the bedroom to her vanity, picking up the nail varnish bottles she had knocked over earlier. She puts a few patches on under eyes that Helena had given her to reduce swelling of bagged eyes. _Same thing, right?_ She quickly removes the pins from her hair, brushing it out and expertly repining it into her usual style. She then removes the patches, starting to reapply her make-up. _She was going to look stunning tonight, if it killed her. She wants him to know what he could have had._

She gets up, moving to the packages of items she had bought this morning; pulling out the black silk corselette. _That would do._ She squeezes it on, looking at herself in the long mirror. _It really does pull everything in nicely._ She then pulls out new silk nude stockings, slipping them on also and clipping them into place. She walks to her wardrobe, needing a killer outfit. _What would she wear?_

She sees her long satin rose gold dress with the golden embellished leaf on the shoulder. _That would do,_ she smiles deviously.

She adds her golden beaded necklace and earrings, as well as her golden cuffs to the dress once it is on. She slips on gold heels to complete the outfit; looking herself in the mirror, slipping her hand down the fabric.

_Yes, this would do just beautifully._

She opens the door to her room confidently, walking down the stairs, directly to the kitchen to see Gertie. _She needed an update._

“Mrs Amberg,” Gertie says smiling, shocked to see the woman so put together after what she had heard and seen this afternoon.

Avis grins, taking the woman’s arm, “I need you to make some steamed cauliflower for Mr Amberg’s dinner.”

“But… but Mrs Amberg, you told me he was only allowed to have boiled white rice, which I’ve already made, and dinner is going to be served in 10 minutes,” she retorts, looking to Avis confused.

“Oh, I know but I spoke to his doctor and he said he can also have steamed cauliflower, and Mr Amberg likely had rice for lunch so this will be a nice change. You should be able to whip it up in no time, surely?”

“Yes, Mrs Amberg,” she says agreeably.

“Is Mr Amberg home?” She asks, letting go of Gerties arm, allowing her to move across the kitchen, whilst she notices that Gertie had made Avis the steak she asked for. _Ha! Marvellous!_

“Yes, he’s in his study. He called for you earlier at maybe 12pm, but I told him you were resting. He came up to check on you when he got home just after 3pm and saw you were sleeping,” she says nervously, holding the cauliflower now.

_Oh, so he had called and had been home a while._

“Thank you, Gertie,” she says smiling as she turns to leave the kitchen. She walks by his study door, clicking her heels on the marble floor loudly so he can hear her presence. _She certainly wasn’t going to make an effort with him_.

She walks directly to the living room, going to the drinks cart. _The painkillers had started to kick in._ She takes her time pouring herself a cocktail and when she moves to take a sip, she hears him behind her.

“Avis, honey. You’re up?”

She turns and sees him standing there. Hi suit jacket is off, his tall form looking great in his crisp shirt and braces.

“I am,” she answers looking at him, taking a sip of her drink, and then ignoring him to moving to the sofa. _He drove her crazy, standing there looking concerned like that after the way he treated her this morning._

“Are you okay?” He asks confused, walking towards her to block her from walking by him

“Yes,” she hisses, “are you?” She looks up at him pointedly.

“Yeah,” he says brow furrowed, he places his hand on her shoulder, moving down to kiss her lips. _Like hell!_ She turns her head at the last moment to offer her cheek. He is taken aback, pausing for a moment and then pecking the cheek she had offered.

**What the fuck was going on here? Was she in a mood? Maybe she was still tired?**

She moves away from him, sitting comfortably on the sofa, crossing her leg over, concentrating on her drink.

“Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t fix you a drink,” she says innocently, a smirk on her face.

He throws his hands up as he moves to sit on the sofa next to her, “I can’t drink, Avis?”

“Oh yes, what a stupid little housewife I am,” she says, swallowing the rest of her drink and jumping back up to pour herself another.

He sits there confused, watching her as she walks away. **Had he missed something? What the fuck was going on here?**

She fixes her drink silently again, trying to keep her anger concealed. _She clearly wasn’t doing a good job._

Gertie comes reticently to the edge of the living room, “Dinner is ready,” she announces, turning away immediately.

He stands up instantly, turning to watch her as she sips her drink. **Ok, let’s try again.**

He walks towards her. She looks up at him her eyebrows raised as he approaches her. He puts a hand on her waist, but she simply looks down at his hand and then back up to his face. _She could give in now and kiss him. But she won’t._

“I can’t wait until later, to get you into bed,” he moves to kiss her on the lips again.

However, she brings her hand up to his lips, stopping him.

Looking deep into his eyes, she grimaces, “Sorry, we can’t. I have a headache.”

She turns away from him immediately, walking to the dining room with her drink in hand, smirking.

_Round one to Avis._

He stands there shocked, turning his head to watch her walk away, a sway in her hips. **What the fuck was going on? What was this all about? Now she didn’t want to make love?**

He follows her into the dining room, sitting at his seat on the edge of the table opposite her, taking a deep breath. **He thought he was in for a good night after the shit show at the studio today but perhaps not!**

He watches as she takes a sip of her drink again as Gertie comes out of the kitchen, placing a juicy steak in front of her.

“Mmm… Steak! Thank you, Gertie!” she exclaims excitedly, as Gertie moves back into the kitchen.

**She was eating steak in front of him! So much for the united front!**

Just as he watches Gertie move out of the kitchen with a tray and plate for him, Avis starts speaking kindly again, “I spoke to your doctor. He said you could have cauliflower too, so long as I make sure it’s steamed!” She continues pointing her finger in the air lightly, as he grimaces at the information, Gertie placing the plate down in front of him.

“Oh, Avis! Steamed cauliflower? I can’t eat this! I’ll shit the bed!” He gestures to the plate dramatically, **he hates cauliflower.**

“So, shit the bed!” Avis fires back at him. “You’re gonna eat it, goddamn it!” She watches as Gertie begins to take the plate away, “Gertie put it down!”

He looks down at the plate and then back to her when she continues, Gertie making a quick exit. She had seen this play out too many times before.

“Yesterday, I ran a movie studio. I had power. But today, I’m a housewife again. So, if keeping your fat ass alive is my job now,” she continues harshly, watching as he winces when she mentions his weight, “I’m gonna do it.”

He takes a deep breath. **Okay, keep calm Ace.**

He starts appeasingly, “okay, fine. You want me to eat this?” He asks gesturing to his plate, “I’ll eat it,” he says flourishing his hands, then moving to look away, grabbing at his ear. **Geez, is this how it was going to be now.**

“Good!” She shouts angrily.

She pauses for a moment. _No, she wasn’t going to live her life this way. Not again. She had to tell him. She wasn’t willing to let this go on any longer._

“No, I’m not going to do it!” She shouts angrily, battering her fist on the table and standing up to walk out of the room.

“What? What?” He asks incredulously, shocked at her reaction. **He said he would eat the damn thing!**

_He wanted to know? She would tell him!_

She rounds on him, pointing her finger, “I’m not going to get a taste for what it feels like to be in charge, having autonomy for the first time in my life,” she continues moving towards him.

“And then being pushed back into the kitchen,” she shouts, pointing behind her.

She is right next to him now, her breathing becoming ragged, “I won’t do it! I can’t! My head is exploding!”

He looks at her confused. **So, this is what she was wrong with her earlier? She was hurt about him suggesting she come home. This is why she had been drinking and spent all day in bed?** **He had never thought she loved it that much? He thought she would want a break. What the hell did she want?**

He shrugs his shoulders, “what do you want?”

Without missing a beat, she tells him exactly what she wants, “I want to co-chair Ace pictures.”

He looks away from her, taking a breath. **Co-chair? I mean she could.**

She continues, seeing him thinking, “You’re recovering from a major health scare. Your doctor says you can only work half days. Let me carry what you can’t.” _She is firm. She knows what she wants. He has to see it was the best thing for them to do. As a team._ _She wants to feel fulfilled, wants him to be well and stick around for a long time. This was the answer to both of them._

He nods slightly, looking back at her. **She has a good point. It was clear from that movie and being back at the studio today that she could handle it. All people talked about was how great she was today. Even Miss Stinson who never commented on anything.**

“You won’t take anything less?”

_Is he negotiating?_

“No, I won’t,” she shakes her head, _she could negotiate too but this wasn’t a negotiation._

They stare at each other as he thinks, and she purses her lips.

 _Come on, Ace. Don’t let me down._ _Do this for us._

**She could handle it. She had handled it without him. Hell, the studio was probably going to go under anyway. She was his wife. His partner. He loved her. He wanted to see her happy. And most of all, she had proved herself. Fuck it!**

He nods his head, firmly stating, “okay.”

_Sorry, WHAT?_

She’s shocked. Her eyebrows raise, her eyes widen.

“Okay?” She fishes for confirmation she hadn’t imagined it.

“Okay,” he repeats again resolutely, nodding.

 _Well, shit._ She pulls out the seat next to him, moving to sit in it.

**She wants an explanation. He can see that. Fine, he will give it to her.**

He licks his lips, leaning his elbows on the table.

“I saw _Meg_ today,” he starts, looking her in the eye.

_Shit, she had forgotten all about that. What was he going to say? That it was a piece of trash, probably._

He looks down, shaking his head, “And what you did was amazing.”

 _She can feel her heart wrenching. He thought it was amazing._ She takes a huge gulp, her face twitching, trying to keep her emotions at bay.

“It was a spectacular movie. It’s not the movie I would make, but I think that’s the whole point of this, right?” He asks gesturing his hands again.

She can’t speak. _She can feel her eyes beginning to fill up. She had been looking for this validation from him her whole life and she was finally getting it. How could she have doubted him? She was really struggling not to get emotional._ She keeps her lips pouting to stop from breaking down.

“You know ever since this whole thing happened to me, I..” he thinks a moment, as she watches him, “I’ve been thinking differently. I’ve been thinking, uh… How do I want to leave this world? And what I want to leave in it.” He begins nodding now, resolute on what he is about to say. **He’s finally made up his mind.** _She knows he’s been thinking differently. That’s exactly why it’s been working. That’s why she loves him so much._

“And, uh… I’d have been proud to have released that movie,” he says, feeling himself becoming emotional, as he watches her lips twitch to the side, biting the inside of her lip. _Jesus, she was struggling to keep it in now. That is exactly what she wanted and needed to hear. He loved the movie. He was on board. And by god, did she love him for it. For everything he has just said. For caring for her and her needs also. For being so fucking everything she needed right now._

“Now, what do you say?” He continues.

She looks at him resolutely, still unable to speak. _She doesn’t know what to say,_ taking a huge gulp, trying to get her emotions in check still.

“You earned it,” he confirms resolutely.

_That’s it. She can’t hold it back anymore. She can’t get it out verbally, so she needs to show him._

She smiles, standing abruptly, kissing him hard, moaning lightly, throwing her arm around his neck. When she lets go, he stands up quickly, throwing his arm around her back, grabbing her upper arm, his other tightening around her waist as he kisses her back solidly, as she responds eagerly. **He has waited all day for this. She truly is amazing; he is sorry he ever doubted her. He is sorry he has hurt her and had dismissed her through the years and this morning. It was only last week she was telling him how she had been so happy at the studio, having that power. How had he forgotten so quickly? How could he have been so obtuse? He was glad she told him outright. He needed to be told when he was a jackass; he had asked her to tell him.**

 _God, does she love him. He truly had changed. She doesn’t know why she ever doubted it. They were partners. They were stronger together; everything when they were together solidly. She adores him for who he is now. She needs him, never wants to let him go._ She can feel her emotion, building up within her so strongly.

He moans into the kiss and moves back from her, licking his lips, as she gasps loudly, her emotions flooding visibly. She starts crying lightly, removing her arms from his neck.

“I am so sorry,” he declares as he hears her weep, “I am so, so sorry.” She puts her fist into a ball, tapping his chest gently, as she tries to get herself together, whilst he rubs her back.

“I’m sorry, too!” She manages to strangle out.

“I want to make a go of it,” he asserts as her head flies up at him, “I want to try again.” She looks into his eyes lovingly. _How had she doubted him. She adores him._

“I think we still have time,” he says nodding to her, as she nods back eagerly still trying to hold in her emotions.

He moves back down to kiss her ardently; she responds just as passionately, protruding past his lips to war with his tongue.

“God, I love you,” he says moving his lips down to her jaw, turning her to perch her up against the table, her leg coming up to wrap around his calf.

She gasps, throwing her head back, her heart beating out her chest, her pulse point throbbing, her legs trembling, her stomach fluttering and her centre aching for him.

“Gertie!” She shouts as he pulls his head away from her neck to look into her eyes confused, “we’re going upstairs!” She pushes him back from her as his pupils dilate, taking her in fully. _**It’s finally going to happen.**_ She takes his hand when he is no longer pressing against her, leading him to the door.

“We’ve not to be disturbed. Not even by the pope himself!” she shouts to Gertie, pulling him towards her as she walks backward out the room, smiling flirtatiously with a curled lip, as he pulls her back to him, slamming his mouth into her mouth again, still backing them towards the stairs.


	26. Do Not Disturb

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I own nothing

She can feel herself being pushed backwards, giggling against his mouth, her eyes closed. He turns her towards the wall and presses her up against it, ravishing her mouth deeper now he has something to push against, as he hears her moaning loudly. She kisses back eagerly, her hands roaming all over the back of his head, neck, and shoulders, desperately pulling him in harder, whilst he runs his hands across her waist, down her backside and under one thigh, raising it up to curl around his. _She is lost in the sensation of his wet mouth over hers, as he runs his hands over the thin fabric of her dress; the satin fabric slipping against her skin adding to her growing arousal._ **He can feel himself growing hard, overwhelmed that this is finally going to happen, and no one is going to disrupt them.**

She opens her eyes for the first time, realising they are still exposed in the openness of this foyer, pressed up against a wall at the bottom of the grand staircase. _She didn’t want to do this here and certainly not in this position. He still had to take it easy and she was still worried about him taking it too far._ She pushes lightly on his shoulders, encouraging him away from her, dropping her leg to the floor, whilst smiling up at him, her chest heaving, his face covered in lipstick, his hooded eyes looking at her lustfully.

“Come on. Let’s go up,” she says deeply, taking his hand and leading him to the bottom of the staircase. When they begin climbing the stairs, he lets go of her hand, wrapping it around her shoulders as his other hand runs up the handrail. She smiles up at him, moving her arm around his waist, stroking his side lightly with the pad of her fingers.

When they finally reach the bedroom, she removes her hand from his waist, moving to enter in front of him, as he keeps his hand on her shoulder, allowing his other hand to join onto her other shoulder. She smiles, moving one of her hands up to his on her shoulder, turning her head to the side to kiss his fingers as he follows her into the room. He kicks the door shut behind him, running his hands down her arms as she stands still closing her eyes, feeling the sensations of him around her. She feels his hot breath against the back of her neck, giving a gentle kiss. **This chunky necklace had to go. It was inhibiting his access.**

He moves his hands from her wrists, to unclasp the necklace at the back, throwing it towards the vanity table, not giving a shit where it fell.

He wraps his hands around her waist from behind, settling on her stomach, pulling her against him tightly and then moving to the crook of her neck to kiss it passionately. **That’s better.** Her head moves to the side automatically, allowing him better entry, as she gasps loudly, bringing one hand to intertwine with his tightly on her stomach, whilst her other hand moves up behind her to find the back of his head. She scratches her nails against his hair, pressing him harder into her neck. _God, she hopes this never ends. She can feel herself becoming more overwhelmed by all the sensations around her, her breathing becoming rougher._

He runs the hand not being held by her to the knot he feels against his arm at her hip, holding her whole dress together. **That had to go.** He fiddles around, until he grasps at the long tie, pulling it to undo the whole bow; then slipping his fingers to undo it completely, both ties falling to her sides. _She feels her dress becoming looser around her._ However, she is more concentrated on his hand taking advantage of her open dress to run his hand under the satin, up to her breast as he nips her neck with his teeth, running his tongue across it after soothingly, whilst he kneads her breast. She laughs through a gasp, trying to catch her breathe from all of her senses overloading.

 _She can’t take it anymore._ She turns around in his arm as he moans pulling his mouth back from her neck, the satin of her dress skimming his hands. She pushes up to him, grabbing the back of his neck to pull him down into a severe kiss. He responds hungrily, gripping either side of the front of her dress to wrench it open so he can run his hands underneath it and feel the satin of her synched underwear under his hands. She moans louder into his mouth, trying to reach desperately up to him harder as he runs his hands across her backside, to the flesh at the top of the back of her thigh. He strokes there lightly; the sensation causing her to pull her mouth from his, throwing her head back, growling into the room with her eyes closed.

She looks deeply into his eyes, grabbing his shirt with intent and turning him around with her, moving him towards the bed. She pushes him back slowly, yet aggressively whilst his eyes bore into hers until the backs of his legs hit the edge of the bed. **He doesn’t know what she has planned but he knows that look in her eyes, and it had always turned out well for him when she took control.** He sits down on the bed when she pushes him back. However, she stands there in front of him silently for a moment, lip curled looking at him from his chest down to his shoes and back up again until her eyes meet his again.

“Take all of that off,” she says pointing at him and circling her finger to his whole body. She begins removing her earrings, snatching them off each ear and throwing them over towards her vanity table without even looking in its direction, simply staring at him whilst he sits breathing deeply, licking his lips, silently watching her. She does the same with the cuffs on each of her wrists, frisbeeing them somewhere towards the vanity table, though she clearly doesn’t hit her target as she hears them clang off the chair and then the mirror. She moves her hand to the cuff of her dress to begin undoing its buttons at her wrist, however, she stops when she sees he still hasn’t moved an inch.

“You’re not undressing,” she estimates, her breath still hoarse. He moves his hands up slowly, undoing his tie and throwing it to the side whilst looking at her hotly in the eye. She smiles seductively, moving back to her cuffs, focussing on undoing the tiny buttons frantically. Finally, she undoes the cuffs on each side, finally able to slip the dress off her shoulders and onto the ground. When she looks up, he has his braces are off, cufflinks off, shirt undone as he tries to painstakingly to remove it whilst kicking his shoes off. She smiles, bending down to grasp at each of her heels, throwing each across the room. He looks up from removing his second sock, hearing the thump of her heels, and sees her standing up straight wearing only her nude stockings, attached to her black strapless corselette synching her waist in beautifully, suffocating her ample chest, as he looks up further to her provocative smile.

**He can’t stop himself. She knows what that does to him.**

He reaches forward, clasping her waist and pulling her to him so he can kiss her mouth as she brings her hands up to either side of his cheeks, kissing him back ferociously. He moves his hands down her backside, to slide down the sides of her legs to her stockings, moving behind her knee to encourage her to kneel one leg on the bed, to straddle him. She pulls back from him, removing her knee from the bed.

“Oh no,” she says laughing. “You’re far too over-dressed.”

She says moving to stand in between his open legs, running her hands down his chest lightly, heaving until she reaches his belt, then moving beyond it to stroke him through his pants. He moans loudly, closing his eyes, throwing his head back, leaning his hands behind him on the bed, as she smiles wickedly, leaning to kiss his neck, moaning into it.

“I want you so much,” she whispers by his ear, beginning to unbuckle his belt.

“Avis,” she hears him groan quietly as she begins undoing the clasp of his belt, returning her open kisses to his pulse point, whilst he sits up more, bringing his hands to her hips, clinging to them hard. She smiles as she pulls his undershirt up out of his pants, moving her mouth away from his neck, licking her lips as she looks deep into his eyes. She pulls the undershirt up, forcing him to move his hands away from her hips and into the air so she can pull the undershirt over his head.

“Those need to go,” she directs, pointing her head to his pants as she drops his undershirt to the ground. He stands abruptly, forcing her to move back a little, watching his movements, as he quickly removes his pants and underwear to the floor in one motion. **He needs to move this along. There is no way he’s going to last with this temptress.**

“Okay?” He asks her challengingly, as she looks down from his pants and underwear on the floor, up his legs to his erect length, up his stomach to his face.

“Just fine,” she smiles devilishly moving towards him, touching his chest.

“Nah,” he says, taking her waist and spinning her around with him so she is the one with her legs against the bed now as he stands in front of her.

“Now you’re the one who’s overdressed,” he determines.

She opens her mouth, breathing deeply, bringing her hand behind his neck and pulling him down to her. She pecks his mouth and pulls back a centimetre away from his mouth, sighing, “then do something about it,” she whispers seductively, raising an eyebrow challengingly, looking into his eyes.

He pulls her hard into him, kissing her brazenly.

“You’re drivin’ me crazy,” he growls, moving to her neck, as he tries to undo the fastening of her corselette, only managing a few clips at the top when she pulls back, pushing him away. She smiles menacingly, turning around to face the bed and then kneels up on the bed, crawling into the middle. She turns back to look at him standing watching her, his length twitching, as she moves her pillow onto the top of his, lying on her side, her head being propped up by her bent arm, looking at him.

 **She looks radiant**. He runs his eyes up her stocking clad, perfectly placed legs, her beautiful thighs, the suspenders attached to that corselette. The curve of her hip, the dip of her waist, covered in black, to her full breasts, spilling from her half open corselette. He looks at her supple shoulders, her delicious collar bone, up to that smile. **The smile that drives him wild.**

“C’mere,” she beckons him with her finger.

**He didn’t need told twice.**

He moves up onto the bed with ease, however, he doesn’t move to her mouth as she expects. He moves to her ankle, leaning down to kiss it, moving his lips across it upwards, whilst his hand lifts her muscular calf, his lips following. She moves her head from her hand, sitting up more, her hand on the bed supporting her as she watches his every move. _He was still full of surprises. The seductee becomes the seductor._

“What are you doing?” She breathes out, reacting to his touches, reaching her hand down to scratch at the hair at the nape of his neck.

“Worshipping you,” he mumbles against the thigh he has now reached with his lips, as he caresses the muscles underneath gently.

She throws her head back, her eyes closing, as his hands move to her hip.

_This man was going to be her undoing. How does he know exactly what she wants?_

“Lie on your back, babe. Relax,” he instructs, moving the attention of her mouth to the bare skin just above her stockings, as he kisses the straps keeping them together. She moans, shifting to lie on her back, her head deep in the propped up pillows, allowing her to still watch him.

“I don’t think it’s possible to relax right now,” she moans honestly, as he unclips the stocking on the leg furthest away from him, rolling the stocking agonisingly slowly down her thigh, running his digits down her sensitive skin on the pathway to her foot, looking up at her eyes. She closes her eyes at the tingling sensation, as he kisses back up her bare leg once he has removed the stocking. He repeats the same action with her other leg, moving his hand to the underside of her knee to bend her leg as his kisses reaches her mid-thigh. He lifts under her knee, moving her leg as he advances to kneel in between her now spread legs, continuing to further open her up to him.

 _She can feel her centre pooling with arousal._ She opens her eyes and seeing him kneeling between her open legs is utterly erotic. _She needs him and she needs him now._

“Ace, baby, please,” she pleads with him, running her hand across the inner thigh he isn’t kissing, as he moves his kisses up her other inner thigh towards her centre. **He can feel himself growing harder at her voice, at hearing his name on her lips. He wants her to feel everything he is.**

He moves his kisses to her centre through the thick fabric, as she throws her head back into the pillows moaning, bending her knees instinctively to prop up. This gives him the opportunity to move his hands under her thighs and over to grasp them for leverage, lying on his stomach. However, when he pulls back, he realises there is a few clips there on the crotch of this corselette. He looks up to her, sees her head thrown back, eyes closed. He smiles, moving onto his elbows to begin unclipping the little hooks expertly. He moves the fabric back when he finally undoes them, revealing her glistening centre. He glances up at her, seeing her moving up onto her elbows looking down, confused.

“Ace?” She asks. _What is he doing?_

However, he wastes no time moving his mouth quickly to her centre before she realises what’s happening.

“Oh my god!” She shouts, falling back into the pillows, her eyes closed, throwing her arms wildly on either side of her.

He sucks on her clit strongly, moving his tongue out to swirl wildly as he collects her sweet juices. Her hips begin bucking against his mouth, as he brings his hands around under her thighs to hook onto her hips, holding her down. He moves his mouth down further to her entrance, kissing wildly as his moustache stimulates her clit further.

“Ace! Jesus Christ, Ace! Keep going!” She screams, gasping for air, as she feels her juices continue to fall from her centre, her hands wildly grasping for anything; having to settle on the sheets on each side of her. He keeps on kissing and licking roughly and then gently against her, moving to suck on her clitoris again, changing his motions, listening to her growing screams, as he becomes harder and harder listening to her.

“Ace, I’m coming. Oh my god, I’m coming. I need you inside me. Please, Ace,” she shouts, reaching down to him, scraping his shoulder to encourage him to move up to her. She's on the edge, trying to hold off for him to be inside her, but she's struggling. He takes the hint, letting go of her quickly, moving up onto his knees, crawling up to her, as he sees her lying there waiting for him, breathing rapidly, trying to quickly unhook her corselette with hooded eyes. He moves up to cover her with his body, pressing his hands under her arms as she grabs him by the neck, kissing him passionately, tasting herself on his mouth.

“Avis, baby. You’re beautiful,” he moans into her mouth, as she wraps her leg around him, her arm around his shoulders, receiving his weight. She moves her free hand between them to his length, stroking quickly, earning louder groans from him. The heat between them is rising rapidly.

“Make love to me, Ace, please God!” She groans pulling back from his mouth. He nods, moving his hand down below, as she extracts hers from him to move to his lower back. He reaches in between them to grasp his member and push himself into her, never taken his eyes off her face.

They both let out a collective grunt face to face as he fills her completely. **Jesus Christ, it was like coming home.** _Did it ever feel this brilliant before?_

He watches as her eyes roll into the back of her head, her mouth dropping open, her eyes closing as she adjusts to the sensation. **She felt so good. So, fucking good.**

She writhes against him as he moves his hand to her hip, encouraging her to begin moving with him as he moves himself in and out of her, slowly yet rhythmically. _Oh my god. It’s perfect. It’s everything. It’s just.. oh my fucking god!_

He looks down at her open mouth, her closed eyes as she heaves out a gasp, louder and more intense with his every movement, until he feels his own eyes flutter closed with the magnitude of his arousal. **She was beautiful. Absolutely beautiful.**

“Baby,” he groans to her as he gets lost in his own arousal.

“Yes, Ace. Yes,” she screams, opening her eyes to kiss him ferociously, the arm around his shoulder tightening, her hand on his back scratching fiercely. He moans into her mouth as he increases his movements faster, her hips meeting every buck. He moves his weight off her a little so he can move the hand he had settled on her hip back between them to settle on her clitoris, rubbing against it a little as he continues his movements.

“Come on, baby. Come for me,” he whispers against her lips, as she breaths rapidly. **He is about to come but he’s holding off for her. There was no way, she was going to not finish.**

She throws her head back at that, pushing her hand down on his back.

“No, no, come here,” she says pulling his shoulders back down signalling she wants him to bring his chest back to put his full weight on top of her.

“I will need to take my hand away, honey,” he says, continuing his movements with his hips and his fingers.

“I don’t care. I want you all around me,” she whimpers. **For fuck sake. He could come right here.**

He slows his movements a little, moving his hand away from her clit, running his hand up her body, stroking the hard peak at her breast on the way, earning another whimper from her. He moves his arms underneath her shoulders, using his hands to press against them for leverage. She opens her eyes and looks at him hungrily.

“I love you, Ace. This is all I’ve ever wanted,” she moans out, closing her eyes briefly as he hits that spot again within her.

“I love you, baby. So much,” he declares, taking her mouth ardently in his, dancing with her tongue as he begins pounding into her.

She screams into his mouth loudly, returning his movements wantonly, as his groans become quicker and quicker, matching his movements within her.

“Fuck! I’m coming. Fuck!” She shouts, her mouth half on his, when she finally releases.

 **Fucking, finally.** He releases into her, his balls tensing as they never have before, his seed spilling into her, as he grunts into the room, "Avis!"

He takes her mouth vigorously as he grips her shoulders, his hips meeting hers hardly. She returns his war with their tongues just as passionately as she works her way through her own release, scraping her nails across his back and shoulders. Finally, when they both begin to descend from their releases, their breathing becomes steadier, their kisses become less frantic, her hands stroking him softer, wishing to feel every inch of the muscles on his back and shoulders. His hands move to caress her neck and swirl a loose hair around his finger, as he softens inside of her, becoming more aware of his full weight on her. He tries to shift his weight onto his elbows and off of her, however, she pulls him closer, wrapping her leg around his thigh tighter, preventing him from getting up. 

He is the first to pull back from their lazy kisses, her eyes opening as he does, whilst he moves the hand stroking her neck to stroke along her jaw line. She looks into his eyes, looking lovingly back at her, closing hers as his caresses continue.

“That was magnificent, and you are gorgeous,” he whispers, leaning down to peck her lips, which she pecks back lightly, smiling.

“Thank you,” she breathes emotionally, a tear coming to her eye, running down her cheek. “You don’t know how long I’ve wanted for this. For it to be like that and it be real,” she divulges, moving her hand from his shoulder to wipe her eye, laughing lightly.

“I do, baby. Trust me, I do. I’m here now, not going anywhere,” he smiles weakly, moving his finger to brush a second tear, moving his forehead to rest against hers for a few seconds.

“I love you, babe,” he whispers with his eyes closed.

“Love you, too,” she responds, pecking his lips again.

He smiles, feeling the air brush against his naked back, he extracts his forehead from hers looking into the bright bedroom. **They hadn’t even made it into the bed, just on it.**

He begins moving out of her and then off of her, turning to sit up on the bed next to her, catching his breath. He looks back down at her, seeing her lying there, completely dishevelled, half dressed; he can’t help but laugh. She looks over to him, hearing his laugh, looking back down at herself.

“What?” She asks, sitting up herself, the corselette hanging off her, moving to the side of the bed. He watches as she stands up next to the bed, pushing the corselette to the floor and standing back up stark naked, staring at him confidently.

“What’s so funny?” She challenges him, her hands on her hips.

He smiles wolfishly, looking at her full form, “not a thing.”

She smiles and moves to the bathroom running the warm water, collecting a washcloth and running it under. She gives herself a quick wipe everywhere; the sweat having covered her body completely, as she moves to give a light wash down there also. She grasps her coral satin dressing gown with large feathers on the cuffs from the hook on the bathroom door, slipping into it, and tying it at the waist, as she grabs his dressing gown also. She wets the cloth again, taking it and the dressing gown to the bedroom, watching as he sits silently on the bed, looking towards the window quietly. She moves to his side of the bed to pass him the washcloth, placing the dressing gown on the bed. He smiles, taking it from her, instantly giving himself a once over, as she puts her hand on his shoulder.

“How do you feel after that?” She asks inquisitively, looking at him for any sign of problems. _I mean he seems to have recovered from it quickly._

“Pretty great,” he smiles, running his hand down one of the ties of her dressing gown. She rolls her eyes, pulling away from him laughing before he undoes it.

“You know what I mean! How’s your heart and your breathing?” She asks walking over to her vanity table, sitting to re-pin the part of her hair that had fallen out.

“Just fine. I feel fine,” he says finishing with the washcloth and standing at the side of the bed to put his dressing gown on.

“Good,” she says moving to her purse to collect her cigarette case and lighter from it. She stands, moving back over to the bed, lying down on it gently on her side, as he looks around to her from his perch on the edge of the bed.

She takes out a cigarette, holding one up to offer him it.

“Yeah, why not?” He says, watching as she puts it in her mouth to light it and passes it over to him. He takes a puff of it, holding it between his two fingers against his thigh as he watches her light one of her own and throw the lighter next to the cigarette case on the bed in front of her. She takes a draw and exhales, looking back up to him and smiling as she sees his grin.

“What are you grinning at?” She asks him, laughing as she fiddles with the skirt of her dressing gown, tugging it to cover up her legs a little.

“You. Just watching you. You’re fascinating,” he smiles, taking another draw of his cigarette, exhaling as he leans on the bed, lying on his side, diagonal to her.

She smiles sheepishly, taking another draw of her cigarette, looking down to exhale and then back up at him through her eyelashes.

She starts laughing, which he joins as he moves to take another draw of his cigarette.

“This is ridiculous,” she laughs. “I’m a grown woman. I shouldn’t feel this giddy,” she finishes smiling at him widely.

“There’s no age limit on giddiness,” he says taking a final puff of his cigarette, shifting to sit up to move to put out the cigarette in the ashtray on his bedside table. He turns around, grabbing his pillow, and propping it up before lying back on the bed, sinking into to it, clamping his hands on his stomach and closing his eyes.

She watches his movements, smoking the remainder of her cigarette, reaching back behind her to stub hers out also. She turns back around, shifting across the bed to lie next to him, placing her hand on his upper arm, stroking softly as her chin rests on his shoulder. He hums at her presence.

They lie silently as he closes his eyes, resting, whilst she looks towards the blue sky through the sheer white inner curtains covering the window.

“Did you mean what you said earlier?” She asks quietly, almost afraid of the answer.

“About what?” He responds, still not opening his eyes.

“About making me co-chair? About me earning it?” She asks, moving her lips to kiss his shoulder, looking to him expectantly. _She hated feeling vulnerable, and even more revealing it._

He opens his eyes, looking around to her, as she pulls back to look at him.

“Yeah,” he exclaims. “Course I did. You done a great job,” he affirms looking at her soberly.

“And when you said you would be proud to release the movie… does that mean we are going to go for it? We’re going to release it?”

“Yeah,” he nods, answering as he gestures his hands in the air. **Obviously? Had he not made that clear.**

She smiles greatly, grabbing his chin in her hand and leaning down to kiss him soundly.

“You’re wonderful. You know that? I knew you would come around,” she smiles, pulling back, her hand stroking the bare part of his chest peeking out through his dressing gown.

“Yeah, well… you might be the only one who thinks so,” he remarks solemnly, looking down at his clasped hands.

She furrows her brow, looking down at him, stopping the movements of her hand.

“What do you mean?”

**He might as well tell her.**

“Dick. We got into it today,” he starts, huffing loudly.

“About what?” She asks, pulling her hand away, and leaning back on her hand pressing against the bed behind her.

“About _Meg_. We were having lunch in the canteen and I told him I had seen _Meg_ and he asked if I was going to release it. I told him the truth, that I hadn’t made up my mind yet and he just went ape shit in front of everyone,” he explains, looking to her, throwing his hands up wildly as he tells the story.

“Dick did? Saying what?” _That wasn’t like Dick. Yeah, he said he was fed up with all of this, but to lose it in the canteen with Ace in front of everyone?_

“He said he was gonna make it real simple for me. That I was to release _Meg_ or he was going to quit tomorrow morning, then call up every journalist who would listen and tell them what had happened at the studio, raving about you, and slating me,” he was huffing when he finished. Her mouth fell open. _She didn’t think Dick would have went that far for this picture. Whilst it was noble for him to go that far and put himself on the line, giving an ultimatum like that was… unlike him._

“But that’s not all! I was upset, ya know? So, I asked him why he was doing this? After everything I’ve done for him? And he said I’ve done nothing for him but take every ounce of credit for his work,” he continues, shaking his head. “He said I never trusted him, and I never listened to anything he said. Then I told him I’d defended him against rumours, ya know? I don’t know if you know about the rumours,” he looks to her suggestively.

She nods, simply, waving her hand in the air, “I know about the rumours.”

“But that’s the thing, Avis! That’s the thing! The rumours are true. He is! He said he has a partner, who he loves, and is happy for the first time in his life!”

Her jaw falls open again, _he had a partner!? Yeah, she always had her suspicions, especially after what Ellen had told her after he had rejected her. But she never thought he had a partner. He was a dark horse! Good for him!_

“But you know what, Avis. He acted like I would give a shit about that. Yeah, I defended him, because you know what people can be like in this industry. The guys in this industry. If you said that about someone and it wasn’t true, it could ruin them! But he acted like if he had told me I would have fired him. What do I give a shit about that? You know I don’t give a shit about that! I would have defended him! The man’s a genius. Plain and simple. Did he honestly think I would give him the boot because of that? Did he honestly think I wouldn’t be happy for him? Half of Hollywood are like that? Who gives a shit!” He finishes, breathing deeply, as she moves her hand to stroke his arm soothingly.

_She can tell he is upset. This had always been a problem of Ace’s. He always came across as an alpha male. People just assumed he was a conservative typical male who was against everything that was liberal. Whilst that had went in his favour a lot of the time; opening a lot of doors for him in Hollywood when he would allow people to make whatever assumptions they wanted, it had always gone against him when it came to forming relationships. People either didn’t bring it up because they assumed he was very conservative, or conservative people got a piece of his mind when they assumed they could speak freely._

“I know, honey. But you need to understand, you don’t really talk about things like that with people, so they just assume in this day and age that if you don’t express you’re for it, then they assume you are against it. Especially someone like you who is very masculine. Do you know what I mean?”

“Yeah, but I thought Dick and I were, I don’t know, friends,” he says solemnly.

She looks down at him sadly. _He looked like a little boy who had a fight with his best friend at school._ She moves her hand up to stroke his forehead lightly.

“Don’t let it upset you. I assume you told him you didn’t care anyway, yeah?”

“I tried!” He shouts, throwing his hands up again, “but he cut me off, got up and told me I had to make a decision by tomorrow morning 10am where his resignation would be if I decided to go ahead with it and then stormed out!”

“All right. So, we will be there at 10am tomorrow to tell him you don’t care about that, and that _Meg_ is going ahead. Or I can telephone him now? Tell him everything?”

She offers, twisting her body to gesture to the telephone.

“Nah, it’s better in person,” he says, grasping her hand to stop her from moving away. “I mean… do you think I’ve taken the credit for his work? Never listened to him or trusted him?” He asks, looking up at her.

She moves her hand up to his forehead again, stroking it.

“You want the truth?” She asks, eying him suspiciously.

“Yeah!” He exclaims, throwing his hands up.

She removes her hand, sitting it in her lap, as she tries to find the right words.

“I think the movies that have been coming out of the studio for the past few years now have been mediocre. From what I heard from Dick and Ellen, and everyone else in the studio, you all have just been making shit movies to cover costs and make a little more money, but that they have the same formula over and over again. It became more of a business than an art; than something meaningful,” she states bluntly, looking at him seriously, as he looks back at her trying to take in what she is saying as she continues.

“The issue, Ace, is that you’re a businessman, looking at how to produce something to make a profit. Whereas, all the people around you aren’t there for the pay-check and the profit, they are there for the craft. For the magic. They aren’t picking the right girl so that it can make money for the studio, they want the right girl to make the movie ping! They want to get the lighting just right, so it shows up on camera; illuminating the moment being captured. They don’t want to just make the same movie over and over again. They want to make history, they want to try new things, experiment. I mean, look at _The Women_ from ’39! They made that with an all-female cast! Even the dogs were female! Even the paintings were females! And it was a hit! They didn’t do that because people were going to go and see a movie because it was a big money maker; they did it to make a point. To show that women alone could carry a movie; to expose their raw talent; to make history; to be the first to do it so that it will be discussed in movie history 100 years from now long after they were gone! People like Dick want to do things like that, things like _Meg_. You, however, don’t want to take the risk because it’s a potential money loser. You’re very analytical and only see the figures being produced, and the money being made. There is nothing wrong with that in general, but in this industry, you need to have a little of both. When I first came to the studio in your place, I tried to be business minded. But apparently there is still some Romanticism in me because they swept me away with their ideas, with their ambitions to create. So, yeah, you probably didn’t listen to Dick at all because you were too focussed on being systematic, whereas, I knew nothing about the industry so I gave the go ahead to try and rebrand Ace pictures as the studio that wants to be ambitious; who dares to do what others won’t! I think that’s the future of this studio, Ace. And I think with me by your side now, you will have a better influence of that than just the businessman you have always been. I don’t know if you’ve taken credit for his work, only you and Dick know that, but if you have, then you owe him an apology,” she finishes plainly, hoping he isn’t offended by her frankness.

He sits quietly for a moment pondering.

“You make several good points,” he finally says, nodding, moving a hand to slap her thigh, stroking this thumb against it as he continues to look at the wall in front of him. “So, I am the problem,” he professes, nodding.

“No, it’s not a bad thing, Ace. We’re all just made differently. We all have our strengths and our weaknesses. You knowing what you are good at, and then knowing when to listen to someone else because it’s what they are good at is something that’s going to make the studio better. It’s a good thing,” she affirms, clasping her hand over his and squeezing it, smiling to him.

“How did I do it all these years without you?” He asks, looking up at her. **He has missed being able to share his thoughts and ideas about the studio. He hadn’t really had anyone to keep him in check and give him that objective outlook in so long. It was no wonder he couldn’t see what was happening in front of him. She more than deserved this position; she could take the studio to a different level with her outlook. It could even maybe survive if Meg was received well in the North and a change of outlook in the future. They should be celebrating it!**

She shrugs her shoulders, smiling at him, as he thinks further. 

“I think we should have a party!” he exclaims.

“W-what? A party?” She repeats, laughing.

“Yeah, a party! We haven’t had a party in years. We can invite everyone at the studio and announce that you are going to be co-president of the studio,” he says looking up at her excitedly.

“Really, Ace. I don’t need a party.” She looks down at his hand, stroking it lightly. _Just the position alone was enough._

“You don’t need one, but we should have one. We should be celebrating it! When can we have one?” He asks, getting down to business.

“Eh… uhm… I don’t know…” She is taken aback, blustering. _He had never had a party for her._

“Saturday. What about Saturday? You got anything on?” He asks her, raising his eyebrows.

“Well… no, but…”

“Then Saturday it is,” he decides, sitting up and kissing her soundly on the lips, lying back down quickly, grinning.

“But, Ace. Saturday is short notice. It would take a lot of planning and people might not be able to come.”

“Then fuck ‘em if they don’t come. It doesn’t have to be a big affair! We have plenty of stuff here. The garden looks spectacular! No expenses spared! Whatever you want!” He proclaims, looking up at her, watching as her smile grows at the thought.

“We do have plenty of linens in storage. We can call the caterer and the tent company. John has been working on the garden, but I can get him in for an extra day this week. It could be doable,” she agrees, looking down at him, her eyes bright with excitement.

He pats her leg twice, “atta girl!”

She moves down to lie across his chest, bringing her lips close to his.

“You, Mr Amberg, are just full of wonders at the moment,” she seductively, lowering her voice.

He moves his arm around her back, stroking down the line of her spine, as she moves to peck his lips briefly, once, twice, a third for luck. She giggles a little, moving her fingers to lightly caress the skin on his chest.

“Oh yeah? Didn’t expect it, huh?” He asks, moving his head up to her lips to kiss her strongly as she sighs into the kiss.

“No,” she answers firmly, laughing, running her finger across his lips, feeling the hot air against her hand as he breathes deeply.

“At least your honest,” he growls out, moving his hand across to her hip, moving to her behind, squeezing there.

She hums, moving to kiss the underside of his jaw. The pecks of her lips trail down his neck to his chest, when all of a sudden, she hears his stomach rumble loudly, going on forever. She looks up from his chest, her face shocked, he looking back confused, as she bursts out laughing.

“What? We skipped dinner!” He says, throwing his hands up.

However, she was in fits, sitting up away from him, clutching her stomach as it heaved. Her laugh is infectious as she almost snorts.

“What? What’s so funny?” He asks, watching her, laughing slightly himself.

She tries to pant small breathes, so she can get her words out.

“It roared like a dinosaur! Only your empty stomach could ruin a seductive moment!” She laughs harder, screaming as she falls back on the bed, whilst he shakes his head at her.

**Jesus Christ.**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The night is still young in the Amberg household, so it ain't over yet!


	27. She didn't feel right about this...

Her laughter starts to dissipate, smiling now as she lies back on the bed, clutching her stomach, breathing deeply.

“It wasn’t that funny,” he comments, looking over to her.

She sits up, looking at him.

“How about I go down and grab us some food? I’ve not eaten all day so I could do with something too,” she estimates, moving to the edge of the bed, climbing off it.

“You’ve not eaten?” He asks, concerned. “That’s not good, Avis.”

“I know,” she agrees, distractedly bending to pick up the clothes strewn across the floor and throwing then onto the chaise lounge. “But I didn’t feel like anything.”

She lifts up the skirt of her dressing gown, sliding her feet into a pair of slippers, as he looks at her suspiciously and then over to the vodka.

**He would ask her about that later. He never really did find out what happened with that and her taking to their bed all day. He had only assumed what had happened.**

“I assume you don’t want the cabbage?” She asks smiling, looking to him, her slippers now firmly on as she drops her skirts again.

“No!” He blusters.

She laughs heartily, moving her hand to her earlobe, looking away from him, smirking. _It had been a cruel ploy, but she thought it was a good one._

He looks at her devious smile, realising the reality of what had happened.

“You did that deliberately, didn’t you?” He accuses her, pointing his finger at her, shocked.

“I wanted you to suffer,” she says nonchalantly, shrugging her shoulders, still smiling as she turns to walk to the door.

“You are cruel, Avis Amberg!”

She opens the door to their bedroom, looking back at him, pointing her finger, “well, it’s a lesson not to cross me!”

“I learned that lesson long ago!” He shouts as she exits the room, giggling.

***

She returns to the room twenty minutes later with a tray of food for them, kicking the door shut behind her. She is greeted with the sound of the radio announcing an advert for Ovaltine. He sits up from lying against the large pillows, as she moves to place the tray on the bed. Once the tray is placed down, she moves to the radio wincing, turning the knob to turn it down a little so he can hear her speak. _Honestly, she would need to get him to get his hearing checked; the radio was blaring._

He looks interestingly at the tray, waiting as she sits back on the bed and pulls the tray in between them.

“Okay, so we have rice for you,” she says passing him a napkin, waiting until he places it across his lap, before she passes him his fruit juice to sit on his bedside table, whilst she takes one glass for herself, moving to her own bedside table. She sees the vodka still sitting there. _She forgot she had left it there._ She tries to push it back a little, hiding it behind the lamp. 

“I didn’t think it right to torture you with my steak, so I brought something else for myself,” she says settling herself back against her own pillows and grabbing the bowl she had brought herself, settling it that too on her own bedside table. She takes her own napkin, placing it next to her before passing him the whole tray to sit on his lap.

“But what about you? What will you lean on?” He asks, looking to her as she places her napkin across her lap.

“I am perfectly capable of getting my food into my mouth without hassle. You, however, are eating rice, and I will be damned if I’m going to wake up with bits of rice all over me in the morning,” she finishes, laughing as she collects her bowl from the bedside table, placing it on her lap happily.

He grunts, taking his spoon to collect the rice and put it in his mouth as she watches. He grimaces chewing the tasteless rice and then attempts swallow it. **He doesn’t know how much longer he can eat this and it was only his second time. He preferred the soup at this rate. At least it tasted of something.**

“Is it that bad?” She asks, watching him.

“Yeah. Can’t we put an OXO cube in it or something? At least it would taste of something,” he says taking another spoonful.

“I don’t know. I can call the doctor tomorrow and ask him. Can you pass me that spoon?” She gestures to the extra spoon lying on the tray, as he looks around his large bowl, seeing it, and picking it up to pass her it.

“People in jail have better meals than this,” he determines as he tries to chew the rice again and swallow it. She smiles, moving her spoon into her large bowl, lifting it into her mouth, and humming contentedly as she swallows.

He hears, looking over to her plate.

“What have you got?” He asks, watching her eyes close as she enjoys the sensation in her mouth.

“Yoghurt with fruit on top,” she smiles, taking another spoonful and bringing it to her mouth.

He looks to her bowl, crestfallen. “What kind of fruit?”

She sighs again at the taste in her mouth, as she swallows.

“Ehm..., strawberries, grapes, blueberries, and raspberries,” she says, looking down to her bowl excitedly as she takes another spoonful. However, she stops lifting her spoon to her mouth, when she looks over at him, seeing his petted lip; she brings the spoon back down to the bowl.

“What?”

“Yours looks so good,” he whines, looking down to his own crappy bowl of plain rice.

“Awww,” she tries to comfort, through a laugh, moving her hand over to stroke his arm briefly. “It’s not forever.”

“Feels like it is,” he says dejectedly, lifting a spoonful of rice back up to his mouth, frowning as he chews it.

“How about I save you one spoonful of this to have as soon as you’ve eaten all of that?” She reasons, trying to make him feel better.

He raises his eyebrows, looking over to her, as she laughs at his excited expression.

“Really?” He asks enthusiastically, watching as she moves another spoonful into her mouth. She nods in response, swirling the yoghurt inside her mouth.

“Deal,” he confirms, lifting the rice up to his mouth, wolfing it down quickly as she silently continues eating her yoghurt leaving some at the edge of the bowl with lots of fruit on it.

He finishes his bowl of rice, trying to ignore its taste as he listens to the radio. **There was a programme coming on soon. The next instalment of the one they had been listening to last week.**

Finally, when he finishes, he clangs the spoon into the bowl, signalling he was finished; smiling at her excitedly.

She looks over to him, laughing.

“You’re such a child,” she determines as she lifts have a spoonful of yoghurt with some fruit onto her spoon, moving it to his mouth, holding her other hand underneath to stop it from falling onto the bed.

“That’s half a spoonful!” He shouts, pointing at it, outraged.

“Oh my god, Ace! I’m going to give you another half! Don’t you want it to last!?” She asks as he looks at her suspiciously, leaning forward eagerly, to devour the contents offered. He groans loudly, closing his eyes, rolling the yoghurt around in his mouth, biting into the fruit to release their juices.

“God, that’s good!” He growls, as he swallows it down. She chuckles, as she scrapes along her plate, collecting the remainder of the yoghurt and fruit, creating a whole spoonful and moving the spoon back towards him, again protecting any potential free fallers with her waiting hand underneath. He repeats the process, moaning loudly again as he savours its taste. She pulls the spoon away, smiling and shaking her head at him as his moans continue. She clanks her spoonful into her bowl, laughing, as he swallows his mouthful of heaven.

“Enjoy?” She asks him, moving her bowl over to his tray, then moving to her bedside to take a sip of her fruit juice.

“Oh my god, yeah. Delicious. And that’s healthy, right? Can’t we speak to Saul about me eating that?” He asks theatrically as he lifts the tray from his lap, balancing it as he swings his legs around onto the floor.

“Can try. Worst he will say is no,” she determines, leaning back further into the pillows as he stands, walking over to the table next to the vanity and places the tray down.

He moves back towards the bed, wetting his lips, savouring the taste on his mouth. She follows his movements with her eyes, chuckling lightly.

“Jesus, I wish you reacted to me, the way you react to yoghurt and fruit,” she jokes, laughing.

He hums loudly, kneeling on the bed and crawling towards her, “I think my reaction to your taste is even bigger, if you ask me.”

He moves to take her slippers off, throwing them onto the floor and running his hand up her leg, as her dressing gown skirt slips off her legs at his movements.

“You sure about that?” She asks, her hand touching his shoulder as he pecks her upper thigh.

He crawls up the bed, bringing his head closer to hers, running his hand up the back of her thigh.

She smiles, breathing stronger, as his lips approach hers. He gives her a brief peck, resting his hand on her hip as his other supports himself against the bed.

When he pulls back, he sighs.

“Oh, yeah,” he whispers, moving his mouth to hers, protruding hers with his tongue to taste her. Her hand finds the back of his neck as he moans loudly into her mouth, her eyes closing at the sensation. He pulls back looking into her eyes.

“See? Could be because you taste like yoghurt and fruit though,” he smirks.

“You ass!” She slaps his shoulder, mock offended, as he laughs heartily.

“Nah, I would know that taste anywhere. It’s distinctly you,” he groans, moving back to her mouth and kissing her deeply again as she moans this time. He pulls back, pecking her lips a couple of times, then moving his head to rest on her chest, wrapping his arm around her waist, as he lies down next to her. She wraps her arm around his shoulder, kissing the top of his head as they settle into each other.

_She feels tired and bloated after eating. She shouldn’t have had such a huge bowl, but she thought she would need it after not eating today. She was glad to just lie in bed with him, relaxing._

**Should he bring up the vodka now? He didn’t want to spoil the moment, but he wants to know what had happened.**

“Avis,” he starts cautiously, rubbing his fingers against her side.

“Mhm,” she hums, her eyes closed, running her hands across his shoulders.

“Gertie said you slept all afternoon and I couldn’t help but see the vodka on the bedside table. What happened today?” He asks still running his fingers against the satin, waiting for her response. He feels her tense below him as her eyes snap open.

“I was upset,” she whispers. _Why did they have to do this now when everything had been so relaxing._

**She was clearly going to need prompting.**

He looks up to her, kissing under her chin and leaning back on his pillow, taking her hand in his to settle it on his stomach.

“Because of what you were talking about earlier? The whole being sent back to the kitchen thing?”

She spots her cigarette case on the bed, sitting up, letting go of his hand and reaching for it and her lighter. She takes one out, putting it in her mouth. She turns around and holds one out to him, but he shakes his hand and head, simply waiting for her to answer.

_She promised honesty to him, so she was going to have to be forthcoming._

“You really want to know?” She mumbles through the cigarette hanging out of her mouth, throwing the case onto the bed and then lighting the cigarette, before throwing the lighter next to the case.

“Yeah, course I do,” he exclaims throwing his hands up, turning onto his side to give her his full attention.

“I felt blindsided when we showed up this morning, and Lon and all your cronies were sitting there, considering you hadn’t even told me,” she starts, staring ahead at the wall in front of their bed, taking a draw of her cigarette, exhaling slowly.

“I phoned him quickly in Saul’s office when I was waiting for you to come back from shopping. I was gonna tell you, but we got caught up talking about the tests,” he says simply, never taking his eyes off her.

“Then when you suggested I go home and prepare the dinner; you dismissed me, like I was a nobody,” she looks down sadly, picking at her dressing gown.

“You’re not…” he starts, but she interrupts him. 

“Let me finish,” she states strongly, waiting for him to settle so she can continue.

“It was made all the worse by Lon sitting there smirking like an asshole, getting one over on me after I had tried to fire him like three times! I was so shocked you would do that to me, after everything we have been through in these past few weeks. I thought we came on so far, and yet you humiliated me,” she finishes, going silent, taking another puff of her cigarette.

“I’m sorry,” he professes genuinely. “I know you’ve had bad history with Lon, so I didn’t think you would want to be around him,” he says watching as she closes her eyes briefly, quirking her head to the side. “He unfortunately has been my lawyer for several years and I did need an update on absolutely everything from him. And quite honestly, you had told me about how you had been so stressed out from being at the studio, I thought you would have wanted to be away from there, to relax.”

She looks around to him sternly, “I also told you that I loved it and how I felt so fulfilled by it for the first time in a long time.”

He looks down, speaking quietly, “I know, I didn’t think. I’m really sorry. I thought I was doing the right thing.”

She softens when she sees how guilty he looks, taking a final draw of her cigarette and moving to stamp it out in the ashtray on her bedside table. She looks back around to him, settling back into the pillows.

“It’s all right. It’s over now. But we ARE firing Lon!” She shouts distinctly.

“Fine. He’s getting too big for his boots anyway. He told me everything today about _Meg_ and seemed pissed off that I didn’t instantly agree with him to burn the reel and never release it because I wanted to see the movie first and consider it,” he reasons, running patterns across the bed with his hand.

_Oh my god. They were firing Lon. This day was just getting brighter and brighter._

“Fucking Lon. He’s honestly such a piece of shit,” she affirms, shaking her head as she looks across the room.

He looks up to her again, **she still hadn’t explained everything.**

“So, what happened that you hit the bottle?”

She takes a deep breath. _She really didn’t want to rehash this._

“Well, I started having a breakdown. I started to doubt you and everything that had progressed with us,” she confesses, turning to look at him in his eyes. “My assertions started getting more extreme and I started breaking down.”

“What did you doubt?”

“I thought you didn’t care about my feelings. I thought you deliberately deceived and manipulated me, bringing Lon in and sending me home. I thought you had played me; telling me everything I had wanted to hear for the past few weeks. That we were equals, that you thought I was intelligent, that you loved me. But determined that you must have actually planned on going back to the way you were before. I even thought at one point that now the doctor had given you the go ahead, that… that you had probably already found a young girl to sleep with by the time I got home.”

She is looking down at her hands as her fingers pick at her nails. _It sounded so dramatic when she thought of it now. How one twenty second encounter could make her jump to all those conclusions._

“What?!” He shouts, sitting up, turning to look at her. “How could you think I would do that?”

She lifts her hands, gesturing for him to calm down as she continues speaking plainly.

“Please, I know. I know now that I was wrong now. My thoughts were running wild. I wasn’t thinking straight because I was so hurt. I was panicked at the thought that everything was going to go back to how it had been before, because dismissing me like that would be how you would treat me before. I was angry at how you had done it. It just… it catalysed that thought process in me.”

He relaxes again, lying back down, taking her hand in his.

“I would never do that again, Avis. I swear on my mother’s grave,” he states honestly, leaning down to kiss her hand.

She smiles watching as he does, “I know, honey.”

He pulls back up looking to her, as she continues, “I just didn’t then, when I was in that mindset. So, I got upset. Started crying, drank several drinks straight. Got more upset. Started pacing up and down whilst all these thoughts ran rampant. Then I broke, started sobbing, became hysterical, then went numb, and fell asleep,” she finishes, looking at him with a shrug.

_Considering how heart-broken she felt earlier about it all, she never would have thought she would be able to recount it so easily to him as she just had. She really had over reacted._

**He can’t believe that one little thing caused all of that. He really had to start being more careful about he came across. He genuinely didn’t realise what a jack ass he had been.**

“I’m so sorry, babe. I never want you to feel that way, especially not because of me,” he says sadly, stroking her hand.

“I know. I obviously didn’t think you might have a different motive, but maybe in the future just ask me or tell me what you’re thinking so it can’t be misconstrued?”

He nods, silently thinking.

“But you were okay when I got home before dinner. You weren’t upset, you just seemed angry, so what changed?”

“I woke up and then I looked up and seen that,” she sighs, nodding up to the painting. He looks around to see the beautiful painting donning the wall.

“I realised I got ahead of myself because there was no way that you would have went to the effort to get that and those beautiful pearls, if you didn’t feel something genuine for me. You would have just got some expensive piece of jewellery like you used to. Then I realised that you are the shittiest liar in the world. I’ve always known when you lie because you are shocking at it. And everything you have said to me in the last two weeks, I would have seen through if it had been a lie.”

“Not one bit of it was a lie,” he reaffirms as he brings her hand to his lips again.

“I know. But I was still furious that you dismissed me like that, so I wanted to make you suffer. Hence the steamed cauliflower and by the way, you are so lucky you turned it around at the last minute because I absolutely would have held out on fucking you and I would have made a show of it beforehand as well!” She threatens, laughing.

“Well, lucky me,” he jokes, smiling as he strokes her fingers.

“So, that was that. I tried to play perfect housewife because I know you wouldn’t be able to handle how stringent I was ready to be, but good old Avis couldn’t stand playing the game and opened her big mouth instead,” she laughs lightly, looking at their hands.

“Well, I’m glad you did. It really cuts all the corners of bullshit. I prefer when we are straight with each other. It makes everything a whole lot easier,” he says, distractedly. **Should he bring up something that had been bothering him too?**

“Well apparently me being straight to the point is something out with my control. So, you can always rely on me for that,” she laughs again, stroking his hand back.

**Nah, she had been straight with him, so it was only fair he had been straight back.**

“Yeah, well since we are being straight. I have to say I didn’t really appreciate the comment about my fat ass earlier,” he says quietly, looking down at their hands as he still stroked her soft skin with his thumb.

_She knew that had bothered him. She had seen him wince._

“I know. I’m sorry. It really was uncalled for and I didn’t mean it. I was angry and trying to be hurtful because I was hurt. I don’t really think that, and I regretted it as soon as I said it,” she discloses regretfully, moving her other hand to stroke his arm.

“It’s fine, but just so you know it’s… it’s something that bothers me. I would never make a comment on your appearance like that, not that I would have any ammunition, but… I’m already aware of my size. Especially when I’m a big guy and you’re so petite. We look like fuckin’ King Kong and Ann when we’re next to each other, for fuck sake and I don’t need reminded of it. It’s embarrassing,” he says bitterly.

She gasps angrily, pulling her hand from his, “what the fuck are you talking about? That’s not true!”

“It is fucking true,” he professes, looking up at her. “It’s like a fucking elephant and a mouse when we are together!”

“That’s just ridiculous!” She dismisses, swiping the air with her hand. “You’re a big guy, Ace. You’re built, and not in a fat way, but in a muscular way.”

“That’s just bullshit,” he shakes his head unbelievably. “Why do you think I try and keep my weight off of you when I’m on top of you. I would fucking crush you!”

She shakes her head slowly at him, looking him in the eye. _He really didn’t get it._

“Why do you think I pull you back down every time you try and do that? I don’t want you just to be skin to skin with me. I want to be submersed by you. I want to feel your weight on me, relaxing into me,” she tells him, throwing her hands around, patting at her chest. “You have this bear-like quality to you and that’s what I love. It’s exactly what attracts me to you. Always has, since I saw you on that the first night. There is this… I don’t know… thing attached to it where I just feel safe and protected when you’re around. Even when we were estranged. But then there is such a sexual aspect to it,” she says dramatically, moving closer to him, swinging her leg over to straddle him as he moves his hands instinctively to her hips. She runs her hands across his chest towards his shoulders, breathing deeply.

“Just how broad you are, and I’ve always just loved running my hands across your shoulders, your chest, your back,” she continues, breathing deeply as she settles her centre against his length, rocking gently. His breathing rate increases at the feeling of her running her hands over his chest and arms, watching her becoming more aroused; her pupils dilating, her chest heaving, her hip movements causing him to harden.

“Just feeling every single muscle that’s there. Strong and bold. It’s such a fucking turn on,” she breathes seductively, her palms pressed hard against his chest as she meets his eyes, her dry lips parted, then wet when she runs her tongue across them. She bends forward slightly, earning a groan from him as her bare centre moves against his solid length. She smiles seductively as she moves slowly to his mouth, hearing his quickening breath, and feeling his grip tightening on her hips.

“Don’t you ever think I don’t find you attractive, because you drive me crazy with arousal, often,” she whispers joining her lips to his in a short, wet kiss, drawing back slowly to kiss openly under his jaw, earning a moan from him. She allows her hands to explore over his chest, brushing past his nipples as she lowers her kisses to his neck and then his chest, shifting her body down, her stomach pressed against his length, moving her hands to the knot tying his dressing gown together at his stomach. She undoes the knot as she continues her kisses down his torso slowly, chancing a look up at him and seeing him watch her every move, moving his hands now to stroke her upper arms through the satin, as she smiles up at him between kisses.

**She was really fucking hot when she was like this. She always had been a master when it came to seduction. He was putty in her hands every time.**

“I’m so lucky,” she mumbles into his chest as she finally unties the knot, drawing back slightly to push his dressing gown to the side to reveal his naked form. He moans at the compliment, feeling the light touch of feathers from her dressing gown brushing against his naked body creating gooseflesh, adding to his arousal.

“Avis, baby,” he whispers, as she continues her kisses down towards his abdomen, running her hands down his sides next to her, getting closer and closer to her target.

“Yeah?” She looks up to him, stopping her actions. He just stares at her heatedly, taking deep breaths, his arousal building higher and higher, his length twitching against her stomach. She understands that look, knows that he wants her to continue, however, she takes a moment to think remaining at her spot. _She felt guilty for how she made him feel and wants to make up for it._

“You know,” she starts, pecking his abdomen, “I used to fantasise about you when I would touch myself.” His eyes go dark as he watches her place another sweet kiss to his stomach. “When we were estranged and I was alone and you know… taking care of myself,” she places another soft kiss, “I would think of you touching me, or making love to me,” she kisses again, “or roughly fucking me.”

She looks back up at him, seeing as his eyes burrowed into hers, his chest heaving. _Good, it was working._

“I would be in our bed, or in the tub, or even at your desk in the studio. I would just think of you and your mouth all over me,” she kisses again, moving lower. **Oh my god, she had done that at the studio. Fuck. He could come right here at the thought of it, with her hardly touching him.**

“Feeling your wide shoulders,” another kiss lower, “your weight pressed against me,” her kisses reaching the line of his hips.

“And then of course, your dick inside me, and I would release so hard just thinking of you and how good you were,” she declares simply as she reaches down to her target standing tall for her, moving her lips to kiss the head lightly, hearing his wildly loud groan fill the room. 

“Tell me what you want, baby,” she moans seductively looking up at him, his eyes closed, and his head thrown back, bringing her hand up to run from the base to the tip of his shaft.

He looks down at her, “you, Avis, you,” he gasps desperately.

“Do you want me to take you in my mouth?” She asks breathily, her own chest heaving as she can feel her own arousal pooling. **He can feel her breath against his dick. She’s so fucking close. He wants to feel her all around him. He wants to be inside her hot mouth as she takes him.**

“Please, Avis! Please. I can’t take it anymore,” he heaves, bringing his hand from her shoulder, to her neck, stroking there softly.

_She has made her point. She would give him exactly what he wanted._

She moves her mouth swiftly to lick a trail from the bottom of his shaft to his tip with her eyes closed, encasing him in her mouth as she moves down taking him fully, cupping at ‘the boys’, massaging them lightly as she did so. She moves her extra hand up to grasp the bottom of his shift, enveloping what her mouth couldn’t. As she moves him out of her mouth, she moves her hand back up with her, hearing his groans as he twitches against her hand, precum spilling as she spreads it across the head. _She knew how much he loved being given head and when she really tried, she could blow his fucking mind._

**Jesus Christ, I don’t know how much more of this I can take, and she has just started.**

She moves back down, moving her hand with her, rotating her lounge and sucking her cheeks in to give him exactly what he wants, she begins a rhythm, moving up and down slowly, and then upping her pace to work him. She moans louder as she moves rhythmically, taking him in fully, never lessening her efforts, as she hears his groans becoming louder and louder, filling the room.

“Oh my god, Avis! You’re fucking brilliant! Jesus, God!” He shouts with his hand firmly clasping the back of her neck, encouraging her to continue.

This increases her vigour, upping her tempo in her efforts to bring him to a climax as she feels his balls tensing, moving higher and higher, knowing he is ready to release soon, her moans becoming louder, his head deep in his pillow.

“Baby! I’m going to come. Get up here!” He shouts, moving his hips alongside her rhythm to meet each stroke. However, she continues pumping, not stopping her tempo for a moment, increasing the swirling of her tongue, the stroke of her hand against his length, the gentle caress of her touch against his balls until he finally comes with a loud cry, spilling himself into her mouth.

“Fuck! Ugh!”

She continues her movements slower as she feels his seed continue to hit the back of mouth, swallowing as it comes. She continues until she feels his spasms dissipate, moving her mouth away from him to look up to his face. She watches as he lies on his back panting desperately. _Is he okay? Holy shit, did she take it too far?_

She retracts her hands from him, sitting up quickly to see his face but his arm is thrown over his eyes as he continues heaving.

“Are you okay?” She shouts, crawling up between his legs, kneeling when she has no bed left. However, he quickly moves his arms, opening his eyes to look down to her, giving a huge grin.

“Yeah,” he breathes out through his smile, moving his hand back over his eyes.

“Jesus Christ! You scared me!” She pants, as he laughs, not seeing her shift her leg over his so she can crawl up next to him and lie at his side on his open arm, her head on his shoulder, her arm across his stomach, watching his chest move up and down and waiting for it to settle.

“That was… fucking… magnificent,” he laughs, moving the arm around her shoulders to pull her in to kiss her head, then moving his other arm back over his eyes.

She smiles, sighing. However, she can’t take the attention away from his chest heaving, as he strokes her back with his hand.

He notices when she doesn’t respond, moving his hand away from his eyes, and throwing it down next to him, then looking down to see her worried lip being chewed.

“I’m fine,” he says, moving his finger under her chin to move it to look up at his grinning face. He gains a small smile from her. **That wasn’t good enough.**

He moves his head down to kiss her lips deeply. She moans in surprise, moving her hand to his jaw, as he pushes her with his kiss onto her back, moving on top of her.

“Ace, honey. Catch your breath,” she whispers when he pulls back, still breathing raggedly.

“I will. I just needed to taste you for a minute,” he insists, pushing his mouth back to hers passionately, swirling his tongue with hers as she moans deeply into his mouth, tightening her grip around his shoulders.

When he pulls back, still struggling for breath, she pecks his lips once more.

“Come on, lie down and catch your breath,” she says kindly, directing him to lie on her chest, to hear her heartbeat and follow her rhythms.

He snuggles into her bosom, wrapping his arm around her waist, planting a kiss to her skin there, as he closes his eyes, moving in rhythm as her chest rises and falls. He feels as she runs her hand across his shoulders, stroking his neck.

“You didn’t get anything out of it,” he mumbles into her body, “I should be returning the favour.”

She smiles, closing her eyes, “I don’t care about that right now. You just get your breathing in check. We have plenty of time,” she says softly.

He hums, listening to her breaths and the soft sound of the radio in the background. He opens his eyes quickly, bringing the hand that was around her waist up to his face to view the time. **9.02pm. Shit.**

“Honey, do you mind if we listen to the next instalment of that show we were listening to last week? It’s already started and is already on the channel, you just need to turn it up,” he asks flustered, moving his head off her chest to look up at her.

“No, I don’t mind, but only if you lie down and stay still,” she says seriously, seeing that his breathing still hasn’t quite returned to normal. He lies back on her chest as she reaches over to the radio, turning the knob to increase the volume up, and then settling her hand back on his shoulder.

She watches as he listens to the radio intently, trying to follow her breathing.

_She didn’t feel right about this._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We're coming to an end soon folks and it's been a pleasure.   
> Thank you for all your comments, they have honestly meant the world.


	28. Don't leave me

They listen to the radio programme, as she silently strokes his back. His breathing had evened out rather quickly once he had started to relax into her.

Once the radio programme finishes, she looks down to him realising he had drifted off. _When had he done that?_ She lies there silently allowing him to continue sleeping as she enjoys the intimacy; she herself had slept most of the afternoon so lay wide awake, thinking as she caresses his back.

_She was going to be co-chairing a major studio. She couldn’t believe it. She had expected a huge fight with him over it after she had lost her temper and made her demand. She had expected him to be completely against it and yet he had agreed to it so quickly. He really was shocking her with his change in behaviour at the moment. She agreed that he seemed to have such a different outlook on life and she loved it. Really, as much as she hated to even think it, his heart attack had been the best thing that had ever happened to them. Not only was he beginning to enjoy his life and relax, but they had grown so much in the last few weeks alone; she can’t even imagine what they may be like after one year. And the changes that would come with her now being a co-chair. She had already seen so much change in herself. Feeling so fulfilled from having a purpose, somewhere to go every day, and having goals to accomplish was so exciting yet terrifying. What if she wasn’t cut out for it long term? Though he had told her that she had earned it. That had been the best compliment he could ever have given her. And that he had told her this morning he was proud of her. She hadn’t had someone be proud of her, since, well, since he was proud of her after giving birth to Claire._

_She is so glad that he will be there by her side now. It would take so much pressure off of her, and him also she supposes. They would be able to bounce ideas off each other and come to a collective decision after careful consideration. She wonders how different it would be now that they both were chairing the studio. Would they be in sync? Would they fight like crazy due to differing opinions? One thing was for sure: they had to have a united front against everyone. They would need to agree to squabble in private if they had a disagreement or people would begin attempting to play them off against each other._

She feels him shift under her arms onto his back, still sleeping. She uses this opportunity to extract herself from him. She wanted to remove these pins from her hair; they had been sticking into the side of her head for the last hour and it was starting to create a headache. She slips off the bed, turning the knob on the radio to adjust the volume a little lower as music played softly. She makes her way to the vanity table to begin fixing her hair, pulling out all the pins one by one, then picking up her hairbrush and running it through her hair. _She would need to wash it tomorrow._

“What you doin’?” She hears him groan from the bed behind her. She looks into the reflection of the mirror, seeing him sit up slightly against the pillows, his eyes sleepy.

“Just brushing my hair out. The pins were beginning to give me a headache,” she answers, running the brush through the front of her hair, tangled with copious amounts of hairspray. _It was always usually in such tight pins that her head was barely ever allowed to relax. She would leave it out for the moment and pin it up later._ She brings her hands up to bounce her hair, seeing its edges kink in and out from where her pins usually sat.

“Go back to sleep if you want, darling. I won’t be long,” she offers, running the hairbrush across the one part of her hair completely unwilling to follow the rest.

“Nah, I would rather watch this,” he determines, looking at her as he clasps his hands at his stomach.

She smiles, turning around briefly to see him watching her. She offers him a flirtatious smile, and then turns back around to work on that rogue chunk of hair.

“I had the weirdest dream,” he declares thoughtfully, as he watches her exasperated expression in the mirror.

“Oh, yeah?” She comments distractedly, gritting her teeth to get her hairbrush through the hard tangle there. _Come on you pain in the ass! Work with me!_

“I had a dream about my mother,” he starts quietly.

 _YES! There you go!_ She thinks as she finally gets through the tug.

“About what?” She asks placing her brush down and tapping her hair.

“My mother,” he repeats.

_Oh._

She turns around in her chair to look at him, her face solemn.

“What happened?”

“We were in our old apartment. The one above the store. She looked so young. Exactly how she did when I was a young kid,” he continues quietly reflecting, looking down at his clasped hands.

“Yeah…” She says encouragingly, standing and collecting her cigarette case and lighter from the bed. Standing on the spot next to the bed, she takes a cigarette out and lighting it, taking a huge inhale and puffing a cloud of smoke as she listens.

“She was making dinner, standing over the hot stove, stirring her Cholent in that huge pot. Remember that pot?”

“Yeah, your sister took it when she died,” she comments, sitting on the bed and swinging her legs up so she is lying with her head being supported by her arm at the bottom of the bed, as she watches him, taking another puff of her cigarette.

“Yeah, that one.” He pauses, “I could smell her brisket. She was tending to Adam, who was just a baby in the dream. He was getting ratty, wanting attention. And I just sat at the kitchen table, watching her every movement as she messed about preparing dinner. It wasn’t like I was a kid. I was an adult, like the age I am now. It was one of those dreams where I knew she had died. All I kept thinking was why are you here? You’re not supposed to be here. You’re not here anymore.”

She smiles sadly, looking at him, extending an arm to rub his shin. “I hate and love dreams like that. When your heart bursts because you know they aren’t supposed to be there but you’re so happy that they are, but it also brings back all of the pain of them being dead. I had one like that about my Bubbe a few years back. It was pretty heart wrenching.”

“Yeah. It was exactly like that. But she was fussing over Adam, then went to the stove and pulled out the brisket, moving about expertly, dishing everything up. Then she looked around to me like she was shocked to see me. Ace! She said. What are you doing here? You’re supposed to be in Hollywood!” He grinned widely, thinking of her voice, impersonating it as he recalled the dream.

“You know what she was like, throwing her arms around whenever she spoke.”

She smiles, taking another puff of her cigarette, “where do you think you get it from? Your all hand gestures.”

He smiles back, continuing, “then she brought me a plate, and she put her hand on the back of my head, and I could feel it, Avis. Her hand right there,” he says bringing his hand up to the back of his head. “Then she sat in the seat next to me. I just ignored the food and looked right at her. I couldn’t even speak, I just kept thinking, is it really you? Ya know? And then she put her hands on my cheeks and moved my head down to kiss my forehead. When she pulled back, she had the brightest smile on her face and looked right into my eyes and said,” he paused for a moment, choking up. “I’m so proud of you!” He whispered; his eyes shining when he looked up to her.

She had tears running down her face.

“Really? What a beautiful dream. I’m sure she is proud of you, wherever she is,” she says, bringing her hand up to wipe at her cheeks.

“You think so?” He asks, so innocently like a child.

“Yeah! You’ve achieved so much in your lifetime so far, Ace.”

“Nah, it was like she was proud of me now. Proud of the decision I had made now. With Meg, with you. It was like she was telling me I was doing the right thing,” he resolves, thinking about it.

“Well, I’m glad she approves. I think she would be proud of the decisions you’ve made. Of the changes in your thinking. I’m proud of you,” Avis smiles, taking another draw of her cigarette.

**That means a lot. He hadn’t had Avis be proud of him in a long time. Since he became studio head really. His mother had always been his biggest support before Avis and since she had died, he had missed her terribly.**

He smiles sweetly, looking at her, “Anyway, then she stood up and wrapped her arms around my shoulders and pulled me into a huge hug. I could feel her so vividly. She was right there. You know that she was a bit on the bigger side, and I could feel how cuddly she was. I could feel right my hands around her waist; I could feel her apron strings touching my hands when I hugged her tightly back. I could smell her soap. It was really great,” he finishes smiling, tears flowing.

“I loved your mother,” she says, taking another puff of her cigarette, sitting up to put it out in the ashtray. “I absolutely adored her. I miss her so much.”

“She loved you. Thought you were the best thing since sliced bread,” he laughs, wiping his tears away, coughing to control himself.

“Yeah. We had a real bond. And I was so afraid to meet her considering we were already married, and I was pregnant when we went to New York to see her. And yet when I did, she was so kind to me. She honestly couldn’t do enough for me. I remember her sitting me down in her kitchen, running around after me, talking my ear off, asking me everything about myself and the baby. Telling me about her pregnancies. Then when she came out to stay with us for those few months the year after Claire was born. It just solidified how much I adored her. I couldn’t have got through it without her. We spent every day together. She was the most caring woman; nothing like my mother,” she estimates sadly, looking up to him with a weak smile.

“Well, your mother was something else. I know you had told me about her, but I still can’t believe that she was exactly how you described her when I met her. I thought you were exaggerating. You definitely need to see it to believe it,” he says smiling.

“Nah, you couldn’t make her up. My poor father. He was truly beaten down by her. We all were,” she says, looking away from him, sniffing loudly.

“Yeah, I know. I just couldn’t believe her when you brought me to their house to introduce me,” he comments, his face in a grimace.

“It wasn’t that bad,” she dismisses, looking down to fix her dressing gown skirt awkwardly.

“Avis. She ignored me and then asked why you had bothered coming back and she wasn’t going to give you any money just because you got yourself in trouble.”

She looks up at him, shocked that he thought that was bad.

“Well, that was better than I thought it would go. The last I seen her before that was when I left for California and she told me not to bother coming back. All because I wouldn’t take a job in a shop like every other girl and went off to pursue my dreams. She said I would never make it and I suppose she was right. I didn’t think even she would let me in the house and at least she allowed that!”

He scoffs, “you have made it, Avis, in so many ways. She was wrong.”

She smiles at him kindly, caressing his shin.

“Well we went there to see my father anyway. He was pleased for us,” she maintains, looking back down to her dressing gown, withdrawing her hand from him and slipping her hand down to fiddle with the pleats in the satin at her waist.

“Shame he had to tell us that in secret when your mother was out of the room... I liked your father though. He was nice. God knows how he ended up with her,” he determines, shrugging his shoulders.

“He was a simple guy. He was happy to live his life being told what to do, but he was a good father. He was very caring. Caring enough for both of them,” she says quietly, fiddling now with the stitching on seam of her dressing gown.

He sits quietly watching her.

“Do you miss him?”

She looks up to him, shrugging and squinting her face, “I didn’t see him enough as an adult. I miss his memory more than anything. I more regret what time I didn’t have with him. I only saw him a few times after that. I wish had the time to ask him more about himself, about his life, and know who he was when I was an adult.”

“That’s understandable,” he nods, watching her as she looks over to the radio and then over her shoulder behind her. _She spots the packages. She had forgotten to give him his gift. Maybe it would change the pace because this was depressing._

She smiles, shifting over to the side of the bed and standing to move around the bed to the chaise lounge. He looks at her confusedly as she sifts past all the larger packages, looking for the small bag containing her gift for him, as he strains to look to see what she’s doing. Once she spots it, she smiles greatly, picking it up and sauntering around the bed.

“What have you got there?” He eyes her suspiciously, as she holds the package behind her back, giving him a devious smile. She brings her knee onto the bed, shifting her knees to half crawl closer to him, the bag still concealed behind her back. When she finally reaches him, she sits back on her legs next to his hips, bringing the bag around her and holding it out to him.

“A gift,” she discloses, as he sits up, smiling.

“Did you get this today?” He asks, reaching out to take the package from her hand.

“Yes,” she says looking over excitedly as he unties the bow holding the bag together.

“You were supposed to shop for yourself,” he comments, opening the bag and reaching in to grab the small box, removing it.

“Well, in case you didn’t notice, I did,” she gestures behind her to the multiple packages, whilst he looks over to what she is displaying, momentarily ignoring the box in his hands. “I hadn’t planned on buying them, but I saw them in the store window and thought they were stunning.”

He smiles, looking at her as he opens the small box, revealing the cufflinks. He grins, picking up one, reviewing it as he turns it between his fingers, allowing the light to reflect off of the pattern of the mother of pearl.

“Do you like them? They are genuine mother of pearl, and platinum encased. They are nothing like what you got me, but I thought they were very elegant.”

He looks up at her, seeing her biting her lip, looking at him nervously.

“Absolutely. They are striking. I love the mother of pearl. Thank you, honey,” he smiles leaning forward to peck her lips, watching as she beams when he pulls back. She brings her legs out from under her now, stretching them out next to him, as she lies down on her side, her hand supporting her head at the foot of the bed so she can still see him.

“What did you get yourself?” He asks, looking over her shoulder at all of the packages.

“Underwear,” she answers, smiling seductively.

“Underwear…” He mimics groaning, reaching for her foot, massaging it lightly. “You going to show me?” He asks, quirking an eyebrow with a smirk.

“What do you want, a fashion show?” She asks him, laughing loudly as she watches him knead the arch of her foot.

“If your offering,” he says bringing her foot up to his chest so his other hand can join his ministrations, winking at her when he looks up.

“I don’t think they would suit you,” she jokes, kicking his shoulder lightly with her unattended foot.

“But I bet they suit you,” he flirts, running a hand up to her calf, kneading there, whilst his other continues to work on her arch.

She throws her head back laughing heartily at his flirtation, her arm giving way as she lies back fully on the bed. She leans back up on both of her elbows, looking at him, curling her lip whilst she considers. _She could show him. With what she bought today; she could end up making it into a full production._

“Are you going to make it worth my while?” She asks, moving her foot from his hand to his stomach, bending it to run her foot downward to his crotch, applying light strokes when she hits her target. He sighs deeply as he grasps her unattended foot on the bed, closing his eyes briefly.

“Absolutely,” he confirms, opening his eyes, looking at her lustfully.

“You better,” she says removing her foot from his crotch, then extracting the other from his hand as she shuffles across the bed, jumping off the side. She walks around to the chaise lounge, picking up the packages.

“Where you going?” He asks, watching her walk to the bathroom.

“To get changed. I’m going for the big reveal!” She announces, winking back at him, before kicking the door closed behind her.

She spends ten minutes in the bathroom, whilst he lies back in the bed listening to the radio and her clunking around. She finishes off her look by applying her bright red lipstick, puckering her lips and releasing into a grin. _She had to admit, she looked good._

Finally, when she emerges from the bathroom, he looks around to her, double taking, as she leans against the door frame of the bathroom, her arm draped above her, posing.

**Holy shit.**

He first notices her wavy red hair, for once free of all her pins, perfectly shaping her face. **He always thought her hair was sexier when it was wilder. It had the Tallulah Bankhead or Rita Hayworth style about it, but she pulled it off better than both of them. She should really wear it like that more often.** Her eyes are boring into his, whilst her lips don a seductive smirk, enticing him. However, the main event is the provocative sheer black dressing gown with black feathers trimming around it, draping to the floor, tied loosely around her waist, lying open to reveal her underwear. He gets a peak at her strapped corselette, stifling her lavish bust and synching her waist perfectly. When she shifts from one foot to the other, giving a deep sigh, he catches a closer glimpse. **Was that… crotchless? Jesus Christ.** He sees her leg peak out after she had moved, revealing her black stockings attaching to the bottom of the corselette with suspenders. **Fuck.** He can already feel himself stirring as he stares at her shocked.

“Well, what do you think?” She asks pushing off the door frame dramatically and walking around the bed slowly, swinging her hips, lifting her skirts to help them billow in her wake. She walks over to his side of the bed as he bustles into a sitting position, swinging his legs around to sit on the edge of the bed in front of her. She turns in a circle, stopping when she faces him again; taking the edges of her skirt of her dressing gown and swishing it around.

“Wow,” is all he can manage. “Just wow.”

“Oh, you like it?” She asks professing innocence. She moves closer to him, so she is directly in front of his knees. He takes a huge gulp as he looks from her face, down to her bust at his eye level. His eyes roam lower to her thighs. **Holy shit, it is crotchless. Was she wearing anything under that?**

She smiles, her tongue catching between her teeth. _She could play this game and absolutely torture him._

“Well you see, the dressing gown is sheer and the feathers are ostrich,” she states, running her hands from the feathers around her neck, down her front along it’s trim, pausing at her breasts to run her fingers across and around them, watching his eyes darken as she does. She smirks, continuing to run her hands down to her waist, watching as his eyes follow. She pauses until he looks back up at her, her mouth opening, her eyebrows raised, waiting for his approval.

“Very nice,” he croaks out, whilst she smiles quickly in return.

“And then there is the corselette,” she says untying the knot at her waist slowly, watching his eyes as his breathing quickens whilst she undoes the tie. She smirks, pulling the dressing gown open when she has the knot undone, pushing her chest out.

“The corselette is a new style,” she says, watching his eyes as they follow her hands as they run down the straps at her shoulders to the lace at her bust, “with French black lace to accentuate the bust,” continuing to run her hands down her stomach, “with whalebone inserts to synch the waist.” She quirks her eyebrow when she sees his eyes trail lower.

“Oh, and this one is crotchless so that you can get easier access to the bathroom and other activities,” she states nonchalantly settling her fingers at the hem, as his eyes snap back up to hers.

“It’s designed for that?” He asks incredulously. However, she ignores him, looking down and running her hands down further across her thighs.

“And these suspenders are just attached, holding up these stunning stockings, which are the softest silk. Here, feel them,” she shouts, enthusiastically grasping his hand clutching his knee, bringing it to her thigh to encourage him to run his hand above her knee.

“Soft, right?” She prompts, taking her hand away as his continues to stroke.

“Yeah,” he whispers, looking at her thigh as he continues stroking it.

She stifles a laugh, watching as he stares at her thigh, mesmerised. _He clearly was going to need prompting._

“So, what do you think? Will it do?” She asks, moving the leg he is stroking to nudge his knee with hers, causing his knee to jerk to the side and his hand to pull back from her. She steps between his not open legs, pressing closer to him, as her hands settle on his shoulders.

“Absolutely,” he affirms, moving his hand up to settle on her hips over her dressing gown, staring again at the corselette.

“Good,” she whispers, leaning down to lift his chin to her face and touching her lips softly to his. She pulls back, smiling, then shifting to give a deeper kiss, hearing his moan as she pulls him closer to her, feeling his grip on her hips tighten. She smiles into the kiss; _her plan was working._

She pulls back slightly, humming and smiling at him, as he looks back down at her body, moving his hand across to her stomach.

However, to his surprise she withdraws him, stepping away from between his legs.

“Good, I can go change into my nightgown then,” she announces, turning around to walk away; managing a few steps before he panics, grabbing her hand and pulling her back swiftly until she is back pressed against him. She squeals and laughs wildly, as he looks at her stretching up, smirking, their noses brushing whilst she settles her hands on his shoulders.

“Oh, Mr Amberg!” She flirts; her voice low and seductive, though a laugh still escapes, as he wraps his hands around her waist to keep her pressed against him.

“You’re a tease,” he admonishes, kissing her resolutely, as she wraps an arm back around his neck, with the other placed on his throat, tilting his head back further to kiss back just as enthusiastically, running her hand now to his cheek after.

“You said you wanted a fashion show, not a strip tease,” she whispers against his lips, as she pecks his mouth again.

He moves his hands from around her waist to gather beneath her dressing gown, wrapping around her tight waist. She runs the hand on his face down his neck and chest continuing her light kisses until she settles at the tie on his dressing gown, undoing it quickly to open it up. She kisses him deeply when continues her journey down to his lap to fondle her hand against him. He groans into her mouth, renewing his vigour, running a hand up to her bust to graze his finger along the perimeter of the lace there against the swell of breast, caressing the flesh there. She continues her teasing along his length, finally grasping it to encourage him to become even harder.

He moves the hand on her waist down to her backside, massaging the skin at the back of her thigh, pulling her even tighter to him. He pulls away from her mouth with a new target in sight as she stands up straight, pulling her hand away from his crotch and settling it back on his shoulder as she smiles down at his lipstick covered mouth. However, he does not look at her, but instead to her chest. He moves his hand away from her thigh to undo the first few hooks at the top of her corselette to allow better access his goal. She knows what he is doing and looks down to watch his concentration; her breathing becoming more heated.

He pulls the blasted thing down to expose her chest; caressing her breasts and bringing his lips to first nuzzle and then devour the one to his left as his hand now around her back pulls her tighter to him. She throws her head back as he licks and grazes his teeth across the peak, sucking and humming soothingly against it after. His other hand works her neglected breast, squeezing and grazing against its peak as she runs her hand across his shoulders, moving her hand to his head to press him tighter to her as she gasps loudly. She finally looks down to watch him, curling her lip when he turns his mouth across to her other breast. _It’s always been such a turn on just to watch him when he was devouring her._ She can feel her centre pooling as he continues, the hand on her other breast drifting down her covered stomach until he reaches the hem of the corselette, pulling it up roughly so that he can reach her.

“Ace,” she moans as she feels his fingers wander to her centre.

**Jesus, she wasn’t wearing anything underneath.**

He begins spreading her juices around before pressing hard against her nub; rubbing there quickly with two of his fingers. She moans, her legs becoming shaky, her eyes rolling back as he continues. His ministrations on her breast, alongside her centre become too much; _she has to have him._ She moves her palm to his cheek, pushing him away from her chest and slamming her mouth against his, ravaging him, as he continues his movements against her centre, wrapping his arm around her waist tightly. She moans loudly into his mouth as her knees buck, falling into him. He withdraws his hand from her centre, pulling away from her mouth, pushing against her hips to steady her. When she follows his cues, he moves his hand down the side of her thigh, her hand settled on his shoulder as he hooks behind her knee, encouraging her to lift her leg so she can straddle him. All she can hear is their heavy breathing as she takes the hint, moving to kneel up on one side of him, and then moving her other knee upward, sitting on his lap firmly, moving wrapping her hands around his shoulders until he stops her. She smiles down at him, as he runs his hands up to her breasts and across her collar bones to push the dressing gown to the edges off her shoulders, it easily pooling at her elbows and around her back.

With this new access he begins gorging himself; kissing her shoulder, his lips caressing along her collar bones, and up her neck, as she moves her hands back to his shoulders. She smiles, sighing deeply as she shifts her pelvis against his, rocking slightly to continue to maintain his arousal as he moans into her pulse point.

“Avis,” he mumbles into her neck, as she moans at the vibrations his voice is creating through her entire body, pushing his mouth tighter to her neck on the back of his head. He pulls back from her neck, looking her directly in the eye as he breathes deeply. She stares back, her chest heaving as she brings her hand up to stroke his cheek, her hips still grinding against him as he encourages her with his hands on her behind pulling her in harder. They stare at each other directly in the eye, the heat rising between them as their grinding becomes quicker, their breathing more ragged. He is the first to move his hand away from her behind, bringing it in front of him to trail his fingers down to her centre, rubbing at her clit again. He remains staring into her eyes heatedly, watching as her mouth drops open at the sensation; her eyes fluttering closed briefly and then opening again to stare at him lustfully as her body bucks against him. Watching her as she writhes at the sensation he is giving her, her lips mere inches away, the feeling of her gasps against his face, makes him more and more desperate to be inside her. **This is the most erotic he has felt sex to be in such a long time.**

She is the first to break the eye contact, throwing her head back, groaning loudly as her hips rotate solidly against his hand. She looks back down to him heatedly, her heart beating out her chest, her lips grazing his as she still gasps.

“Baby, I want you inside me,” she breathes, as she kisses him soundly. “I need you inside me, now,” she adds when she pulls back.

He pecks her back soundly, watching her eyes darken as he moves his fingers down to her opening, ensuring she is ready for him. **Jesus, she’s more than ready.**

“Please, Ace,” she moans erotically, writhing against his touch inside her as her eyes close in pleasure.

**Fuck, her voice like that was such a turn on.**

“Oh god, I love you,” he declares, moving his hand to his length, still watching her as he moves it into her opening, so she can sink down onto him, filling her completely.

“Oh my god,” he groans, as she moans loudly feeling him hit that wonderful spot within her, sending tingles throughout her body.

“You’re so hard… feels so amazing,” she breathes out, beginning to build up a rhythm on his lap, opening her eyes to look at him.

“That’s it, baby,” he says, capturing her lips as his hand finds her hips again, pulling her down onto him hard each time she sinks back down.

She moans into his mouth, her lips becoming off target with his each time she slams herself onto him quickly as she feels her orgasm building higher and higher each time he hits that spot within her.

“Ace. Ace. God, Ace. Please. Ugh. Right there. Oh my god,” she pulls away from his mouth, screaming louder and louder into the room as she pulls his head into her neck, squeezing his shoulders tight. He kisses her neck ardently, licking and grazing his teeth against her skin as she screams louder.

“Come on, Avis, baby. Let go,” he moans into her neck, breathing heavily, pulling back to take her lips again as their rhythm becomes frantic, moving his hand to run up to her breast, massaging hard, then caressing its peak.

She pulls back from his lips on the cusp of letting go, her forehead pressed against his, breathing deeply.

“Take me,” she breathes out. “I’m yours,” releasing as a moan as her pleasure takes over.

“You are mine, Avis. Completely,” he groans, moving his hand back to her hips to press her down harder, slamming his hips up harder to meet her each time she crashes down onto his length.

“Yes!” She screams.

He slams up again, groaning. His breathing is so frantic, he can’t speak.

“Yes, Ace! Just there!”

She crashes down again, him hitting her spot again.

 **He could feel himself about to release. He couldn’t hold on any longer. His chest was becoming tighter**.

_Oh my God!_

They slammed into each other again.

“Arghhh!” He shouts loudly into the room as he releases into her.

“YES! FUCK, ACE! YES!” She screams at the top of her voice into the room as she lets go completely, riding him hard, her face buried in his neck as she revels in the waves of her release. He continues his spasming into her, his arms wrapping tightly around her back holding her tight as he feels her open mouth against his neck, he presses his face into her hair, as he looks behind her trying to control his breathing.

Finally, when he feels her movements become less frantic and more fluid, she pulls her head away from his neck. He kisses her bare shoulder, pulling back also as he continues to gasp sharply. She smiles widely, running her hand through her hair to push it away from her face, then puffing as she attempts to catch her breath, laughing lightly. He watches her, still gasping as she moves forward and kisses him briefly, her body still buzzing.

“That was incredible,” she sighs, still catching her breath.

However, he can barely respond as he continues to focus on getting air through his lungs.

**Remember what Tom said. In through the nose, out through the mouth.**

“Are you okay?” She asks, becoming concerned.

He nods, still breathing, as his hands fall to her hips, resting there gently.

“Lie down, honey,” she says kneeling up quickly, so he slips out of her and her weight is no longer on him. She swings a leg off of him, settling on the bed next to him as he falls back on the bed behind him, lying down as his knees hang over the end of the bed. She sits next to him, her brow furrowed, as she brings her hand up to rest on his chest, rubbing soothingly. He brings his hand up to clasp hers, rubbing his thumb against her hand, as he concentrates on his breathing exercises, his eyes closed.

_Maybe she had taken it too far with the seduction._

“Is there anything I can do?” She asks regretfully. He opens his eyes, his breathing beginning to improve, when he hears her.

“No, honey,” he pants out. “You just need to- give me a minute-. You’re too intoxicating- for this old guy-,” he laughs lightly, still practicing his breathing exercises and closing his eyes again.

“I’m sorry, darling. We shouldn’t be taking it this far when you’re still recovering,” she comments quietly, looking at his chest, watching it rise and fall.

He opens his eyes again, squinting his eyes at her confusedly.

“What are you- talkin’ about?”

“We were supposed to be careful and take it easy and here we are, going at it again, and me stupidly seducing you to work you up even more than I should have,” she reasons, looking at him. _She felt stupid. They were supposed to be taking it slow to ensure he didn’t have attacks like this so they could stop if it got too much. But she was getting lost in her own wants and needs that she wasn’t considering his._

“Are you kiddin’? That was fuckin’ brilliant. Of course, it’s going to wear me out when it’s like that. It’s a good thing that we are still drivin’ each other crazy with lust. I used to get this breathless before my heart attack as well, Avis,” he reminds her, removing his hand from hers and sitting up on his elbows now to look at her.

“You weren’t recovering from a heart attack before,” she rebuts, her hand rubbing across her face.

“And yet, here I am. Still alive and thoroughly,” he leans up to her mouth pecking her lips, “thoroughly”, he pecks again, “satisfied.” He finishes kissing her soundly as she smiles into his sweet kiss, bringing her hand to his face.

“I just don’t want to take any risks, Ace. I couldn’t cope if you left me again,” she says quietly. He watches her look down sadly to the bed, as he leans on his side, taking her in.

“I’m not going anywhere. I promise. We can take it slowly next time if it would make you feel better.” He brings his hand up to her face, stroking her cheek bone, making her look at him. He hopes his smile will convince her everything is going to be all right. **He felt fine. Yeah, his chest was a little tight and his breathing had been a little ragged but wasn’t it always after an intense encounter?**

She nods slowly, her eyes filling.

“Hey, hey,” he says sitting up quickly to pull her into an embrace. He wraps his arms around her shoulders, whilst she immerses herself in him, enclosing her arms around his back. “It’s okay, honey. It’s okay.”

**He had never thought that she would be so impacted by his heart attack still. Now that he was here and improving, he honestly thought she would be pleased. But remembering how he was with Claire when she was born, he supposes he should have anticipated it.**

She hugs into his chest, silently; loving the feel of him surrounding her.

“I’m fine, honey. Look at my breathing now,” he says pulling back slightly and smiling at her as his breathing evens out more. “It’s fine now. It just needed some time.”

_It did look more even now. Maybe she was overreacting. It did take everyone some time to come down and she didn’t really give it much time._

“Are you sure?” She asks, looking down at his chest and then back up to his eyes.

“Yeah,” he says stroking her face and pecking her lips, pulling her back into another embrace. “I feel great.”

After they sit there for a few minutes, he feels the strain on his back.

“How about we lie down, hm?” He offers, pulling his head back a little.

She nods into his chest, pulling away slightly as she watches him shuffle back on the bed and into the pillows. She follows automatically into his open arms, lying against his chest, directly above his heartbeat, feeling its rhythm in her ear as she wraps her arm around him.

“Are you okay?” He asks her, stroking along her back.

She nods against his chest. _He honestly could be the most tender man. They had just had mind blowing sex after his heart attack and he was the one comforting her when it should be him who was freaking out. She honestly felt that they were so connected to one another now. Their honesty with each other, that they were caring for one another, and anticipating when the other needed comfort just made her feel that they were so much more in sync. How had she lived without this for so many years? She could feel her heart burst with her love for him. She couldn’t be without this, without him again._

“Don’t leave me,” she whispers into his chest, a tear falling down her cheek.

**His heart breaks for her. In every way. His love for her brimming.**

He leans down to kiss her head soundly, bringing his free hand not caressing her back up to her hand settled on his stomach, brushing his finger across her wedding ring.

“Never.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry that the chapters will take a little longer than usual for me to post. I'm back at work and I have been exhausted. 
> 
> I'm sure you all just want to find out if he's dying or not. As I've said before, I love the little moments, the little conversations in relationships which is what they definitely must have had in the one night of continuous passion until 4am. 
> 
> So there is more to come! Is he going to die or not? I don't even know.


	29. They can't take that away from me

She hugs into his side tighter, pulling him closer.

“Never,” he repeats quieter. She stretches her head up to look at him, as he smiles down at her, still stroking the ample ring on her ring finger. He leans down to peck her lips, moving his hand from hers to wipe the tear from her face.

**She really was worried, wasn’t she?**

He shifts beneath her, turning on his side so that they were lying facing each other, his arm draped around her waist, whilst hers settles on his upper arm. He moves his face closer to hers, nuzzling her nose with his, coaxing a smile from her.

“I absolutely love you. You know that, don’t you?”

She smiles solemnly, nodding. “And I love you.”

He rubs his hand solidly across her back, pecking her lips again, watching every twitch on her face.

“Why are you so worried?”

“I don’t know. Everything is going too perfectly. I don’t want to lose it. I don’t know what I would do if I did. If I lost you again... I can’t bare the thought… The breathing was just a bit… unsettling,” she divulges, wrapping her arm under his, around his back to nestle into him tighter.

“Okay, first off. You didn’t lose me the last time. We just lost our way a bit, and it isn’t going to be like that anymore. Secondly, you’re not getting rid of me that easily. We are going to have several years of this because I’m not going anywhere. Of course, I’m going to breathe crazy when I have a seductress like you on my lap. Trust me, honey, I will have you breathless in the same way when I’m at full throttle because I already have several different ways I plan on taking you,” he chuckles, pecking her nose.

_He was right. Of course, he was going to breathe wildly after sex. It was just something she was going to have to get used to. She was sure she would. She had to start enjoying their time together, instead of worrying about the things that could go wrong._

She laughs, her smile becoming flirtatious as she quirks an eyebrow at him, “Oh really? How long have you been brainstorming those?”

**Good, she was beginning to lighten up. He just had to keep the momentum going.**

“Oft… let me think. A decade?”

Her eyes go wide, “A decade? You mean you thought of it whilst we were apart? I thought you were going to tell me, I don’t know… days.”

“I told you there were plenty of times I wanted to fuck you before, but I didn’t think you would be receptive,” he says plainly, kissing her lips gently, as she returns it eagerly.

“I didn’t realise I was so desired,” she says teasingly, silently thrilled that she had been.

“Have I not made it obvious that you are?” He asks, running his hand along the sheer of her dressing gown from her back, down her side to her hip, and back up again. She moves one of her legs to wrap around his, offering a peck in return from his forthrightness. _Was it not just wonderful to be desired by the person you have loved after so many years? He had so many girls over the years; a pick of any number of young girls and actresses he wanted and yet he had still desired her in that time and now?_

“So, are you going to share these plans you have for me?” She giggles, scratching her nails lightly along his back.

“Mmm… well you inspired the one on the desk in the office earlier after the revelation of what you’ve been up to in there.”

He smiles at her wickedly, whilst she laughs, moving the hand from under the pillow to his lips, trailing them.

“Fine with me. That’s been one of my fantasies for a while. Maybe we should start off with the office downstairs before trying out the one at the studio. We wouldn’t want to scar Miss Stinson,” she laughs, her teeth capturing and grazing her tongue.

“Oh, but scarring poor Gertie is okay?” He laughs, kissing her finger as it grazes his lip.

“You’re the one who said she’s going to have to get used to it,” she laughs, trailing her finger up to his moustache.

He hums, watching the concentration in her eyes.

“What else have you got in that head of yours?” She asks, trying to not seem overtly interested.

“Uhm… the usual stuff. Against a wall, in the shower, in a hot tub… which we should absolutely get.”

“Mmm… I’ve heard they are really relaxing. I think we should get one. It would be good for you. But I have to say, whilst your list sounds great, they are pretty tame. I was expecting something crazier,” she laughs, continuing the running of her finger of his moustache.

“What?” He asks incredulously, his face screwed up. “What’s up with them?”

“Nothing. Just of all the fantasies in the world, I wasn’t expecting simple ones like in the shower. We have done all of that before.”

“Well first off, I didn’t say fantasies, I said plans. Second off, I’ve just had a heart attack so being able to have sex standing would be a massive achievement. And lastly, it’s the ones that seem mundane that I missed the most,” he says soberly.

“That’s sweet,” she smiles, pecking his lips lightly again.

“Well, what are yours then? If you think mine were so boring?” He laughs, watching as she screws up her face to think about it.

“I don’t know. I’ve not thought about it explicitly. However, the ones where you can nearly get caught seem to be what is my biggest turn on,” she shrugs, keeping her eyes on her finger trailing his moustache.

“Well you were always like that. But what specifically?”

“I don’t know,” she laughs loudly. “Like, do you remember when we would go for an event or dinner with people, and it would be what happened under the table? It was like our secret, trying to keep your reactions at bay, and no one else in the room knew what was happening right in front of them? Like that,” she divulges, her smiling growing wider.

“Well yeah, I remember that. You were always wild in bed or wherever we ended up after that,” he laughs, moving her dressing gown away from her hip to run his hand on the flesh of her thigh.

“Mmm… but places where someone could catch you… Hmm... Oh! That’s one! The viewing room at the studio. I would say a theatre but that’s too public. So, the viewing room.”

He laughs, “the viewing room? Poor Harry.”

She laps his back with her hand, “Harry wouldn’t be there you idiot,” she admonishes, smirking.

“I hope not!”

She laughs, closing her eyes for a moment, enjoying his fingers caressing her thigh as she pulls him tighter, sighing.

“Actually, I have one. I think I mentioned it before. The good old at an event and pulling you into a cloakroom or closet, or at a party and pulling you into a bathroom. I thought of that a good few times.”

She smiles, considering it. “Yeah, I used to love that… the one place I wouldn’t want to is at the beach. It’s just too messy,” she grimaces, looking into his eyes.

He laughs heartily, “Okay. No beach rendezvouses.”

“Why, would you want to?” She pulls back, asking him.

“Don’t care either way to be honest.”

She smiles, moving in closer again, running her hand up his back.

“What about a plane?” She asks, curiously.

“Private, yes. Commercial, I couldn’t go all the way. Maybe a bit of fondling, but it’s too obvious and uncomfortable to go for the full thing,” he states bluntly.

She laughs, “fair enough… well we know you’re comfortable with a pool.”

“Avis, if I wasn’t so spent from the last go, I would take you out to the pool now and go again,” he laughs lightly, running his hand up her backside under her corselette.

She throws her head back, laughing heartily.

“I can’t say I would be against it. I’m washing my hair tomorrow anyway.”

He laughs lightly, trying to think of other scenarios, “what about an elevator?”

She pulls back looking at him shocked, “an elevator? You spend maybe 30 seconds in an elevator! There isn’t enough time for anything in there!”

“I didn’t mean the full thing. I meant a bit of foreplay,” he laughs, pulling her closer.

“Oh! No, I don’t mind that. That wouldn’t bother me at all,” she determines.

“You really are into nearly being caught, aren’t you?” He asks laughing.

She shrugs, “apparently. You know I’ve always been very varied and open when it comes to sex, Ace. Since day one, I was never just a missionary.”

“Don’t I know it!” He moves in to kiss her soundly as she responds to his kiss eagerly, laughing slightly through it.

“It always kept it interesting. Trying to keep up with your appetite,” he mumbles between kisses.

“A bold statement from you! You’re just as bad!”

He laughs heartily, pecking her lips again.

“It wasn’t an insult. It’s something we were always on the same page with. I look forward to more,” he pecks her lips, “and more,” he pecks again, “and more of it,” he groans, kissing her ardently, as she moans into his mouth.

“Me too,” she whispers when he pulls back for a breath.

_These moments when they are just wrapped up in each other intimately, talking was some of the moments she missed the most. She never could do this with any of the others. She would fool herself into the romance with them in the preamble but never the aftermath. This was completely reserved for him. She’s shocked at how quickly her walls have been dropped by him. He could always immobilise her._

“And I have to admit, this get up you’re in just now,” he comments, pulling back and looking down at his hand running up the feathers at her hip to her neck, “is mind-blowing. I look forward to seeing more of it.” He looks into her eyes, deeply.

“You always were one for provocative underwear,” she laughs, stroking his back, looking into his eyes as he rolls a feather in between his fingers attached to the dressing gown near her bust.

He hums, looking down at the feather he is rolling in his hand.

“You’ve always known the things that get me. Enticed me with them since we first got together,” he says, smirking.

“What can I say? I’m perceptive,” she shrugs, watching his absorption in the feather he is rolling.

“Mmm. You are,” he agrees, looking up to her eyes again.

**She looks so happy, so relaxed. That smile looking back at him. He has missed that. He spent so many years being on the receiving end of a scowl, of an eyeroll. The fact that they were here now was nothing short of a miracle. He can feel his heart swelling with love for her, with adoration, with desire. He just wants to immerse himself in her fully. Give her everything she ever wanted.**

She squints her eyes at him suspiciously. He was staring blankly at her, in complete silence.

“What?” She laughs.

He leans up to kiss her strongly. She responds happily, shocked by the passion in his kiss as he pushes her onto her back, his hand running up her side. She squeezes her arm wrapped around his back, moving her other hand around to his neck, stroking lightly. His kisses become more sensual as his tongue enters her mouth, whilst she moans contentedly, feeling his hand caressing against her thigh, whilst he settles between her open legs.

He pulls back, breathing heavily as her chest heaves, his forehead pressed against hers, their noses brushing.

“I’m crazy about you,” he breathes out, as she sighs deeply in response, leaning up to peck against his lips, running her hand from his neck over the front of his shoulder to caress the skin at his collar bone.

“Are you?” She whispers, her arousal building just at the intensity in his candid words.

“Yeah. I want to give you everything you ever wanted, Avis. Tell me what you want and it’s yours,” he declares seriously, pecking her lips over and over; then leaning up on his elbows, shifting to support himself so he can pull back and give her his full attention, his eyes bore into hers.

_Didn’t he already know?_

“Just you, Ace. That’s all I want. All I ever wanted,” she breathes lustfully, pulling his neck down to her for a passionate kiss, immediately taking his mouth, as she wraps her leg around his thigh, his weight pressing against her deliciously. He kisses her back with vigour, moving his hand down to grasp at her thigh pressing against his hip, running it down to grasp her hip hard.

He moves his lips away from hers, continuing his ardent kisses down to her pulse point, as she gasps for air, her eyes fluttering closed.

“Ace…” she breathes.

“Absolutely gorgeous,” he mumbles against her neck, continuing his kisses down to her collar bone as she breathes deeply, concentrating on the sensations he is granting her.

He pulls his hand away from her hip suddenly, moving his hands to the bed and pressing up to take his weight off her.

She looks up to his confusedly, her hands going slack against him, as he kneels up in front of her. However, he quickly makes his intensions known when he moves his hands to her half open corselette, quickly beginning to unhook the clasps running all the way down to the bottom. She stretches her hands down unclasping each of the suspenders holding up her stockings. She begins shuffling her legs trying to remove the stockings as he reaches the bottom of the clasps, the air hitting her bare stomach now. When he is finished her clasps, he reaches behind him silently to pull off the remainder of the stockings.

When he turns back around to her, he smiles at how provocative she looks, lying there waiting to be taken. He takes her hand pulling her up to sit, bending down to kiss her briefly as she reaches her hands up to caress his jaw. However, he quickly pulls away, moving his hands to her shoulders, pushing the straps of her corselette and dressing gown down her arms as he kisses her bare shoulders. She moves her hands to help him pull off both the corselette and her dressing gown, as he continues his kisses across her shoulder, her head falling back at the sensation. When she finally has everything removed, her corselette discarded across the room, she moves her hands back to his jaw, pulling his head away from her shoulder to kiss him sweetly. As he begins pushing her back into the pillows, she pushes his dressing gown off his shoulders and arms so she can feel his skin fully against her. Once he is released from the dressing gown, he doesn’t even pay attention to where it goes, too immersed in her mouth, moving his hand to feel her whole unrestricted body now. He moves his weight onto her, remembering what she had told him earlier, feeling his way up the flesh at her side. He moves his kisses away from her lips down her neck, whilst she runs her hands across his shoulders, his broad frame arousing her further.

**He said he would take care of her and that was exactly what he was going to do.**

He moves his kisses quickly reach her chest as he moves down the bed. He concentrates his kisses on the peak of the breast to his left, kneading the right, as his other palm roams further down her stomach towards his other target. He can hear her moans filling the room, her chest heaving, as her legs drop open wider when he brushes by her centre to stroke her inner thighs. He quickly moves over to her other breast, kissing and licking briefly, before moving his ardent kisses lower down to cover her stomach. Her hand remains on the back of his head, encouraging every little ministration he is willing to offer.

“Oh, Ace,” she breaths raggedly.

_She doesn’t think she’s ever felt so desired. It was brilliant feeling him completely against her, giving her everything she wanted. There was nothing frantic about this as it was before. It was pure love and affection he was offering, and she would take every drop._

His mouth finally reaches her centre, blowing against the heat he feels radiating from it as she gives a sharp intake of breath. However, she quickly finds he has other ideas, moving his arms under her thighs and moving his open kisses to the sensitive skin on her inner thighs. Her eyes flutter close, humming as she lies back concentrating on every touch he is providing: the pecks of his lips, his moustache grazing her skin, his tongue swiping across her, his fingers caressing the tops of her thighs. The sensation sending her into overload as she listens to him moan into her skin as he moves to provide the same sensation to her unattended thigh.

_She had forgotten how good he was when it came to providing pleasure. He remembered every little thing that drove her crazy. She was lucky that he didn’t mind doing this. She had heard of many other “dignified” women who wouldn’t hear of it, and neither would their husbands even consider providing it. However, from the beginning he made clear he knew how to please a woman and please her he always had. She had never ever had to ask him for something like oral sex; he had always just provided it willingly._

She begins moving her hips as she responds to her growing arousal whilst he sets her skin alight with his touch. **Always a tell-tale sign she was ready was when she started gyrating her pelvis.**

He quickly moves his mouth across to her centre, giving her the attention she is craving most. He goes in hard, licking and sucking her clitoris as she gasps, her eyes opening to stare at the ceiling, grasping behind her at the top of the pillow she was lying on. He continues circling his tongue against her, tasting her juices, as he removes a hand from her thigh and slowly entering her with his fingers.

“Jesus Christ, Ace!” She shouts, looking down at him, his face buried between her thighs so erotic that it turns her on even more. She can feel as he begins pumping his fingers in her, intensifying his attention on her nub; her breathing becoming quicker as she feels herself on the edge of another orgasm. She grasps the back of his head, pushing him into her strongly.

“Oh my god! Harder!” She screams, panting rapidly, her hips writhing against him, her thighs thrashing from side to side, her moans substantially audible in their room, as she feels his fingers curl to hit the part within her that she so desperately needed massaged. He continues ploughing his fingers into her harder just as she asked, resuming his hard kisses and swirls against her with his tongue until he feels the contractions at her entrance, her screams reaching a new pitch, her grip on the pillow and the bedsheets tight as he continues to devour her through her orgasm.

“Ugh! Yes! Fuck yes! Mmm,” she screams as she rides the wave of her orgasm. Her hips slowing when she begins to come down from her peak, his movements relaxing against her, whilst she lies spent attempting to catch her breath. She loosens her grip on the bed sheet, swiping her forehead to remove the hair from her face and the sweat that had accumulated there.

He removes his mouth from her, looking up to watch her chest heaving as she continues quiet hums, her eyes closed whilst her body glistens. He smiles, glad that he has been able to provide her with that pleasure again. **God, he had missed this.**

He extracts his arm from around her thigh, flexing up onto his knees so he can crawl back up to her.

“How the fuck do you do that?” She sighs as she feels him lie down next to her.

He chuckles as she turns her head around to look at him, still spent from her orgasm.

She breaths deeply, looking back up to the ceiling, “if head of studio ever falls through, you could do that for a living. I of course want to be the sole client.”

He laughs again, lying on his side to face her, moving his hand onto her stomach to rub across it. **She was always so covered up; he hasn’t been able to really look at her body in years. So little had changed, but yet he found it so fascinating.**

“No really. You have a talent,” she compliments seriously, placing her hand onto his resting on her stomach and opening her eyes to look around to him.

“Thank you. I’m glad you enjoyed it,” he smiles, looking at all the dips and curves around her stomach, her hips. Every little crease there. She looks down to see what he is looking at; too exhausted to feel self-conscious, she lets her head fall back onto the pillow.

“Where did you learn to do that?” She asks, her wrist settling on her forehead.

“Before I left New York I slept with this older woman for a month or so. Elizabeth. She told me the golden rule is that you had to give pleasure as well as receive it. She was very specific in what she wanted and wasn’t shy to tell me exactly how to achieve it,” he moves his head to look away from her stomach up to her eyes, smiling.

She laughs, lacing her hand through his.

“Well thank you, Elizabeth,” she laughs, sitting up slightly to kiss him lovingly.

“Thank you, too,” she whispers inches from his lips, giving another light peck before lying back down.

She looks down his body to see that he isn’t erect in any way.

“Do you want me to return the favour?” She asks resolutely, looking at his groin obviously.

“Nah,” he says moving his strokes to her hip, “this old boy needs time to recover.”

She hums, closing her eyes again, as she moves her arm around to the back of his neck, stroking her nails against it.

“What time is it?” She asks him, her eyes closed, as she concentrates on his caresses.

“Uhm…” he looks to his watch, “One.”

“In the morning? Geez.”

He hums in response, feeling the heat radiating from her body.

“You’re really warm,” he comments, looking up to her.

“I know. It’s humid in here and I feel unclean now. I think I’m going to go for a quick bath if you don’t mind,” she says beginning to sit up, as he lets his hand fall onto the bed. “Maybe you could open the doors and let some air in.”

“Yeah, I can do that,” he says, watching as she moves off the bed and walking to her vanity to collect a clasp for her hair. As she walks back into the bathroom, she notices him staring at her naked form.

“It’s rude to stare you know,” she teases smiling.

“But it’s not rude to admire,” he retorts with a wink.

She stands looking at him with her hand on the door frame, leaning back into the room towards him.

“Big flirt,” she says laughing, before moving into the bathroom and turning on the bath faucet and clasping her hair up.

He grabs his previously discarded dressing gown on the bed, slipping it on when he gets off the bed. He moves over to doors, opening them wide as the sheer curtains billow through the room as a gust of wind captures them, as he hears her humming in the bathroom as the water runs.

He walks out onto the balcony, grasping the metal handrail as the cool air hits him. He looks up and down the street and then onto the bright lights of Los Angeles in the distance.

**It really was great to be alive. Just feeling the fresh air enter his lungs, looking over this wonderful city from the comfort of his extravagant house. His wife was walking around their bathroom naked after a few sessions of love making. He had plenty of money, a lavish life, his health was improving. He had so many years ahead of him and plenty of means to enjoy it. He had a studio, he was respected, and had all the opportunity to take risks. He thinks back to the picture he had watched today. He thinks back to the scene that Ernie had been in as the studio head, and how he had told all of the guys on that board that he wasn’t going to let the Hays code hold him back from casting the coloured girl, nor their threats. They were right in the movie. It was up to the people to decide what they wanted so see, not a board of cunts who had created the stupid code. The people had every right not to see the movie or leave the theatre if they wanted to. What was it he said… people had the right to make up their own minds and that was what this country stood for. No one was forcing them to watch it. That shouldn’t stop all the other people who want to see it. And it was true, _Meg_ was a hit. He was Ernie in that movie. He was this town and he wouldn’t be threatened, well they, now, he and Avis wouldn’t be threatened. Let them try to run them out and end the studio. He had nothing to lose. He had his wealth, his health, his family, Avis. He had everything that mattered, so fuck it. They would open it bigger than any other movie and stick it to them. Fuck them!**

He looks around again, smiling and gripping the handrail. **That’s why he loved this town. He had been blinded by the idiots who tried to run it, but truth is they could take whatever risks they wanted. The Hays code wasn’t the law. There would be trouble, but he was willing to take the risk.** He pats the handrail smiling and walking back into the bedroom, towards the bathroom, hearing her splattering around. He sees she’s surrounded by bubbles, her eyes closed, head settled against the back of the tub.

“Having a good time?” He chuckles, smiling down at her.

She opens her eyes, looking up to him smiling, “yeah.”

He turns around and looks into the mirror above the sink. **He was looking old.** He turns on the faucet, letting the water run warm before wetting a washcloth and wiping across his body to refresh himself also.

“I think I’m going to head downstairs to get a drink. Do you want anything?”

She hums, thinking, “yeah. Just bring up whatever.”

“Very specific,” he answers laughing, as he turns to look at her, still wiping himself with the washcloth.

“Well, you know what I like. Surprise me,” she says gleefully, moving her arm over to grasp a tie on his dressing gown, tugging at it flirtatiously.

“Okay,” he says throwing the washcloth onto the counter behind him, then bending down to kiss her as she moans lightly, smiling into his kiss. He retracts from her, standing up straight and retying his robe, as she leans her head back against the bathtub again, watching him.

“Be right back,” he smirks, walking out of the bathroom.

\---

When he walks out of the kitchen with his fruit juice, he heads directly for the living room, looking for a drink to offer her.

**I mean the vodka is already upstairs, he could probably just get something to mix with that.**

He looks around the various bottles on offer, seeing the white Crème de menthe. **She did like a Vodka Stinger.** However, as he turns around with the bottle in hand, he sees the record player sitting there. **Well, that would be pretty romantic. He wonders if he can lift it though.**

**\---**

After twenty minutes of soaking in the tub and using her favourite soap to refresh herself completely, she feels that she is about ready to get out of the tub. This is confirmed when she hears the door to the bedroom slam open, and Ace groaning. She screws up her face confused, getting up out of the tub quickly. She grasps a towel, wrapping it around herself as she makes her way to the threshold of the bathroom, watching as he thumps the record player onto the table next to her vanity, an ashtray clattering next to it as it catches on the huge box.

“What are you doing?!” She asks him incredulously, her hand leaning against the door frame.

He sits down on the seat next to the table, clutching his chest, panting.

“Got- the record- player,” he answers through gasps.

“Jesus, Ace! You nearly gave ME a heart attack!” She declares, throwing her hands up, about to walk back into the bathroom, until she hears him still panting, causing her to turn back around.

“Are you okay?!” She shouts.

He nods vigorously, “yeah. Brought up the records and drinks already,” he says pointing to the chaise lounge and the bedside table.

She rolls her eyes, turning to walk back into the bathroom to dry herself off with the towel.

He breathes through his pants, eventually bringing his breathing back to a normal rate. As soon as he is able to, he stands up, walking over to the large box full of records, sifting through them. He finds the one she likes from Fred Astaire, taking the record out of the sleeve and putting it on the turntable, then getting it to turn before putting the needle on the record.

He hears the song start up, smiling as he looks up as sees as she leaves the bathroom, tying her coral satin dressing gown around her.

**_The way you wear your hat, the way you sip your tea_**.

“Mmm, a good choice,” she determines as she nods at him approvingly

“Come and dance with me,” he says holding his hand out to her. She smiles, stepping forward to take it, instantly moving into his embrace as he wraps a hand around her waist.

They continue swaying listening to the song, enjoying the tranquillity of the moment.

**_The way your smile just beams_ **

**_The way you sing off key_ **

**_The way you haunt my dreams_ **

**_No, no they can't take that away from me._ **

“I could get used to this,” she smiles, pulling her head back from where it was perched on his shoulder, looking up to him.

“Get used to what?” He asks her, tightening his grip.

“You being romantic,” she smiles, laughing lightly.

“Mmm… plenty more where that came from,” he says, leaning down to peck her lips, continuing to sway her around.

**_The way you hold your knife  
The way we danced until three  
The way you changed my life  
No, no they can't take that away from me  
No, they can't take that away from me._ **

As the song finishes, she pulls back, turning to the record box.

“Okay, what have you got in here?”

He moves to take the record off the turntable, moving it back into his sleeve as he comes up next to her, sitting on the chaise lounge next to the box. He peaks in the box as he watches her shuffle through the records, slipping the record in when she pauses.

“Oh, I like this one!” She declares, pulling out the record she has spotted. She walks over to the record player, setting the record up and playing the dulcet tones of Ethel Merman, however, she sings along immediately.

**_My story is much too sad to be told_ **

**_But practically everything leaves me totally cold._ **

**_The only exception I know is the case_ **

****

“I could have played that role you know!” She shouts, quickly joining back in with the lyrics.

**_When I'm out on a quiet spree_ **

**_Fighting vainly the old ennui_ **

**_And I suddenly turn and see_ **

**_Your fabulous face_ **

He watches her smiling as she begins swaying from side to side, belting the song out at the top of her lungs perfectly in tune, walking towards him gesturing each line, her hand stroking his face as she sings the final line of the verse.

As she continues singing the next verse, she dramatically sings to him, stroking his head, pulling it into her chest and then pulling back dramatically and sitting on his lap as he laughs and watches in awe.

**_I get no kick from champagne_ **

**_Mere alcohol doesn't thrill me at all_ **

**_So, tell me why should it be true_ **

**_That I get a kick out of you._ **

****

She rises quickly after the verse, standing up as they sway around together to the remainder of the song. Every so often he lets her go, turning her under his arm in a circle as she continues singing loudly. He continues to spin her out and then back into his chest, as she dramatically strokes his face, pecking his lips, acting out the whole song for him whilst he plays along.

Finally, when they approach the end of the song, she hits the high note at the end, grasping his shoulders as he grasps her waist, throwing her head back and singing the final line at the top of her lungs. He leans down and kisses her sweetly as they both laugh when the song is over. He lets her go, standing back to offer her a round of applause as she dramatically curtseys for him, begging him to hold his applause.

“You’re too kind! Please!” She jokingly admonishes, hinting she wants him to continue with her quirked eyebrow. She laughs wildly, walking over to the drinks and glass he has brought up, whilst he removes the record to put it back in its sleeve.

“Okay, you pick one. I will give you a challenge! Pick one that reminds you of me!” _Oh, a vodka stinger. Good choice._

He smiles, moving the record back into the box as he continues sifts through the box, looking for a record, whilst she makes her cocktail. He finally finds one. **Jesus, this song. It almost ruined Glenn Miller for him but for her he will do it again.**

He walks over to the record player, setting up the record as she sips at her made drink. When the music begins playing.

“Oh my god! In the Mood! My favourite!” She shouts, swaying her hips from side to side as she balances her drink in her hand.

He shakes his head, watching as she continues dancing on the spot, smiling enthusiastically at him.

“What? You don’t like it?” She shouts, taking another sip of her drink.

“I used to, until you played it incessantly and made me dance with you at every single event whenever it came on,” he continues looking at her as she begins dancing towards, shaking her head also from side to side.

“But listen to it. To the brass. Ugh! It’s just brilliant!” She screams, pursing her lips and continuing to dance towards him, until she wraps an arm around his neck, whilst he slips his around her waist. She downs the drink, placing it down on the table as he watches her, waiting to take her hand. She begins dancing with him, forcing him to follow her steps, upping their tempo as she takes the lead.

She laughs heartily, as she forces him to twirl her under his arm, joining back up with him as the brass band continues to play it’s tune loudly.

“This is definitely the song that will forever remind me of you,” he laughs, continuing to swing her around.

“It makes me happy,” she smiles, reaching to kiss him soundly. He tastes her vodka stinger on his lips, licking them to invite the only taste of alcohol he has had in a long while.

“Well, that’s the most important thing,” he says, continuing to dance with her until the song ends.

“Well thank you for enduring it,” she says flirtatiously, letting go of his hand and bringing hers up around his neck, pecking his lips again.

“For you, anytime,” he smiles, returning the kiss. “Your turn. You pick a record that reminds you of me and I will get you another drink,” letting go of her waist, and picking up her empty glass before heading back towards their drinks. He takes a swig of his fruit juice before preparing her another vodka stinger, as she puts the last record back, looking through the possibilities.

“Aha!” She shouts, looking at the record she has finally chosen and walking to put it on.

As the song starts playing, she looks at him as he smiles recognising the song, “this is definitely the one you used to always play!”

**_When you're smiling_ **

**_When you're smiling_ **

**_The whole world smiles with you_ **

**_When you're laughing_ ** **.**

He laughs, bringing her drink to her, “I didn’t used to always play it!”

She looks at him pointedly as she takes her drink, “Ace, go and look at that sleeve. It’s literally frayed from the amount of times you played it.” She smiles, taking a sip of her drink, swaying to the song as she looks through the records. He sits down next to her, watching her.

**She was always so much more musical than he. She came alive when music came on. She loved to dance. He didn’t know why he never took her dancing more in the past. He would need to rectify that.**

“Yeah, it’s only this one I like though. With Billie Holliday. Didn’t really like the one with Duke Ellington,” he says closing his eyes and listening to the song as she looks through all the records.

“It’s your turn to choose something,” she says, turning to look at him as he sips his fruit juice.

“Nah, you take my turn. You will pick something better than I will,” he smiles, watching her as she excitedly looks through the records, beaming.

“Hmm,” she spots a record as the Billie Holliday song finishes, looking over to him and quirking her eyebrows.

“Have you still got it in you though? That.is.the.question,” she looks to him smiling suspiciously, as she walks over to the record player.

“Have I still got what?” He asks confused, watching as she takes the old record off, putting it in its sleeve and sitting it to the side as she puts on the new record.

He instantly hears the drums banging from Benny Goodman’s, **_Sing Sing Sing_** _._

She turns around looking to him, swaying her hips to the music and grinning widely, waiting for his reaction.

“Avis, you’ve got to be kidding,” he says laughing.

“Come on!” She shouts, beckoning him over. “I want to see if you can still foxtrot to it like we used to!” She laughs still swaying to the music.

“Are you nuts?!”

“Yes!” She says taking his drink in one hand and grabbing his hand with her other. She lets him go to place the drink on the table and then moves back to him assuming their dancing position.

“Come on. I won’t laugh at you,” she looks up to him smiling.

_She was having so much fun. She loves it when they are like this._

“What have you got to laugh at?” He says sarcastically, “I’m about to prove to you that I’ve still got it!”

She stifles a laugh, pulling herself together.

“All right then. On your count,” she offers him.

He waits a minute to pick up the tempo, then shouts, “okay, one, two, three, go!”

They begin a fluid dance along to the music, swaying to their left and spinning expertly at his side of the bed and then back along the end of the bed towards her side of the bed.

“Hey! You’re not bad at all!” She declares, smiling as she continues move alongside him to the fast tempo, taking his lead.

“Told you,” he says smiling, continuing the steps as he leads her into an elegant dance.

Eventually, he becomes more breathless as the song goes on and as he tries to keep up the faster tempo, moving throughout the room several times.

He laughs, letting her go, as he can’t keep up his pace anymore.

“Okay, I’m out! I made my point,” he says laughing as he sits on the chaise lounge, panting.

“You did very well,” she says breathless herself as she leans on his shoulder standing next to him, whilst he wraps his arm around her waist, pressing his face to the silk at her chest. She wraps her arm around his shoulder, stroking softly as the music continues. He moves his hand down to her bottom, tapping it, encouraging her to continue dancing around as he knows she wants to.

She smiles, shuffling across to the table, grabbing their drinks and dancing back over to him along to the music to pass him his glass. He swallows as he watches her dance around, sipping her cocktail, her eyes closed.

**She really was in her element. He loved watching her like this. She looks 30 years younger when she was like this. He would need to treat her with concerts or musicals more often. Definitely to dancing. She seemed to love it.**

“Enjoying yourself, babe?”

“Oh, yeah,” she says leaning down to kiss him soundly, and twirling around again when she withdraws, dancing expertly to the brass band.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, the next chapter is probably going to be the last.   
> I'm back at work and it's been horrific so god knows when it will be up.  
> But, it's been a pleasure. 
> 
> Songs:  
> They can't take that away from me - Fred Astaire  
> I get a kick out of you - Ethel Merman  
> In the Mood - Glenn Miller   
> When you're smiling - Billie Holliday   
> Sing, Sing, Sing - Benny Goodman


	30. Ace, I have something sweet for you...

She continues to play an array of music over the next few hours, changing the tempo every so often. He gets up again a few times to join her, swaying her around and enjoying the light kisses they share when the song she chooses is romantic. She also plays a fair share of upbeat songs, most of which he sits out watching as she continues to drink, laughing loudly as she experiments with her moves, dancing around their room to the different beats.

He grows tired, closing the doors to the balcony before opting to change into his pyjamas, lying in the bed against his pillows watching her as she grows tipsier.

Eventually she begins to tire out, opting to put on a Glenn Miller album for him as she opts to lie down next to him under the covers, taking a rest.

“Do you think it’s always going to be like this?” She asks him, as she turns on her side happily, palming his arm, her other hand tucked under her head.

“Like what?” He asks distractedly.

“Like this,” she exclaims lifting her hand and twisting it in circles between them. “This easy. This loving.”

“Mmm… I hope so. It won’t always be easy, but I think if we stick to what we said we will it will be,” he reasons, moving his hand to rest on her hip, as she brings her leg up to tangle with his.

“How do you think it will be now we will be at the studio together as well? Do you think we will fight more?”

“I don’t think so. Plenty of couples work together. Bogart and Bacall. Tracey and Hepburn. Leigh and Olivier.”

“I don’t think Leigh and Olivier is a good example, Ace,” she says doubtfully, laughing.

“You get my point,” he laughs with her, stroking her thigh softly.

“I think we are going to have to have some ground rules,” she says seriously, her finger trailing across his shoulder, looking at his expression.

“Okay. Like what?” He asks, turning his head to look at her.

“Well for starters, we have to have mutual respect for one another. There can’t be any insulting or embarrassing one another in any way, So, not what happened this morning,” she raises her eyebrows, looking at him pointedly.

“I already apologised for that, Avis,” he retorts, his hand ceasing his strokes on her thigh.

“I know that. But we need to have a completely united front. We don’t have to come to an agreement on everything, but we need to come to a compromise on everything. We can’t dismiss one another; we need to always listen and hear each other out. And if we disagree with something the other says, then we should either politely disagree or pull each other to the side privately. And I’m not going to have fights or arguments with you in front of others because it will make it look as though there is a weakness between us which people will take advantage of and start playing us against each other.”

“Yeah, I agree with that,” he considers, resuming the stroking of her thigh. “I think also we need to have an agreement that if there are any decisions to be made, we need to make them together. Because I’ve seen it so many times when there is more than one person in charge, and people go to one person and when they don’t get the answer they want, they just go to the other one.”

She smiles, so happy that he’s in agreement.

“Yeah. I think we need to just tell people that we need to speak to the other before making any decisions and that we will inform them when we have. I don’t want to agree to something that you might have denied already. That will avoid people playing us off against each other. And it will be better to make collective decisions as well so that we have more than one perspective. But I think the point is that we need to keep communication open between us.”

“Absolutely. I think that also goes for when we make collective decisions in a meeting or whatever too. There’s plenty of times you come to a decision before you go in and then the person you’re meeting with sways your decision. I think if we are both there, we need to ask to speak privately. Or if only one of us is in attendance, because we won’t be able to attend every meeting together, then we should wait to make the decision after consulting the other,” he says absently staring at the painting facing their bed.

“What if they put a time limit on it? There’s been so many times that they do that whole it’s a take it or leave it right now when you ask them to give you some time to think about it,” she asks concerned, looking over to him.

“Fuck ‘em! We stick by our guns. We tell them that we aren’t going to make a decision without the other co-presidents go ahead, if it’s something different to what we agreed. Usually they bargain like that to panic you into a bad decision anyway, but when you tell them it’s because we make decisions collectively, I think they will be more willing to give some leniency. Even if it’s asking for some privacy to pick up the phone.”

“Yeah, that’s a fair point.” She says quietly, thinking. “So, do you think we should do everything collectively or split up parts of the job?”

“Hmm… well I think, like you said, I’m more economical and you’re more creative so maybe we should both be the main overseer of both of those but consult each other on the decisions we make. I completely trust you to be more creative than me anyway, though I would like some involvement. What do you think of that?” He turns looking to her, to gauge her reaction.

She smiles, “I’m so glad you said that because I hate handling the finance. Lon was condescending about it and then I had to get Dick to explain most of it to me, and then it was extremely exhausting after he did.”

He laughs, tapping her leg a few times, as he resumes his strokes.

“So, what does it mean that I will handle the creative part of it?” She asks inquisitively.

“Like gathering together the potential movies that we could be making and who could be directing in them, starring in them. Working with Dick and Ellen on all of that. And then we collectively decide on what movies we go ahead with.”

She smiles widely, pecking his shoulder. _This was going to be so much more fun now._

“That sounds good… You know we’ve already started looking into some potential movies about the Shoah. Apparently, there is footage going around of the camps and what really happened there. There are rumours that not only did the Nazis take their own footage but also there was documentary footage taken by the soldiers who liberated the camps and a production company in London with this guy Bernstein took some of the footage which apparently was so shocking that they aren’t going to release it. I’ve already got Dick looking into getting the rights to the footage so we can use it.”

“Do you think people would want to see that?” He asks seriously, looking around to her, as she leans up on her elbow, looking down to him.

“I don’t know but I think they should. Do you know how many people deny that it ever even happened? Millions of people were murdered and so many victims are afraid to even tell their stories because they think people aren’t going to believe them. We need to tell these people’s stories, Ace. They deserve to have their stories told. People should see the atrocities that happened there so that they never happen again. People need to learn from these disgusting acts to see how easy it is for people to follow; to see how these things were happening under some peoples noses and they didn’t even know it. They shouldn’t have to hide!”

He had watched as she flailed her arms around talking passionately. He looks at her as she finishes, breathing deeply, looking at him seriously.

“This is why you deserve co-president. You have a perspective of social issues that I just wouldn’t even have considered. You’re going to do a lot of good,” he smiles at her proudly.

She smiles weakly, “thank you, but seriously, these people have suffered enough. They shouldn’t have to suffer for the remainder of their lives having people not believe them. Like there is this book circulating in parts of Europe just now that Dick is also looking into. I don’t even know if it’s been translated into English yet. But it’s apparently a diary that this teenager wrote whilst she hid in an attic with her family for years. And it has all her thoughts and fears in it, of this young girl that ended up being discovered and getting shipped off to a camp where she died. Only her poor father survived, and he got it published. That is a story people should hear. Can you imagine being stuck in a tiny attic for years on end. Who needs to make up fictional stories when there are true stories, lived by these people, which have such a meaningful message? These are the stories that should be told!”

_She can feel herself becoming increasingly passionate, but it’s important!_

“You’re right. It should be told. I still am so astonished it happened. As we sat here in our elegant homes, that happened across the waters. I just can’t believe people are saying it never happened. Who would make that up?”

“Fucking idiots!” She shouts, lying back down.

“I think some people just don’t want to believe there is such evil in the world, Avis,” he says thinking, his hand drifting to stroke her hip.

“Well, there is!” She declares, “and if we keep ignoring it then it’s going to keep on happening. It happens in our own back fucking garden with the KKK. People have to know.”

“I know, I know,” he says soothingly, “I think so too.”

They lie in silence, listening to Glenn Miller continue on the record player, when eventually he pipes up.

“Another ground rule I want to put in place is trying to leave work at the studio or in the office downstairs. Sometimes I just want to come home and forget that place, not come home and be constantly there in the back of my head, stressing about it. Obviously, there will be times that we talk about it, but for the most part, I like to leave the studio at the studio,” he states plainly.

“I agree with that. I think that’s inclusive of not taking our own personal issues into the studio either. If we are arguing about our own things, I think we need to agree not to not be petty and let whatever issue we are having with each other influence what we do there,” she adds, looking up to him.

“Yeah, I think that’s the best way. In general, we need to again, communicate our issues and sort them before we leave the house or the studio, so that they don’t influence each other,” he continues, stroking her thigh again.

“We just need to make sure we make time for us as well. That we don’t just become colleagues but remain a married couple who can spend time together without work. I think that’s important,” she says looking up to him, smiling.

“I don’t think we will have any issue with that,” he says, leaning over to kiss her, pecking down to her jaw and withdrawing to lie back again, squeezing her in closer.

She laughs, settling into him again, “no but seriously. On the other hand, we also need to make sure we don’t spend too much time together. We will end up sick of one another.”

“We have plenty of interests we do separately anyway. You go out with Ellen, your girlfriends, your charity events, benefits, auctions. I go to the club, and I play golf with the guys. I think there is still plenty of things we will do apart. But I know what you mean; we need a balance. I think we definitely need to make more time together to do things. Ya know, like we have been doing for the past few weeks. Dinners, dancing, theatre, concerts. Things like that where we can actually do things together. We haven’t done that for years,” he determines, thinking about the things they could be doing.

“You’re right. That would be good,” she smiles, kissing his shoulder. “I think you hit the nail on the head. We just need to communicate. Do exactly what I said before and be open and honest. If we need time together, we just need to tell one another, or if you want to go to the club or I want to go out with Ellen, we just need to say.”

He hums in agreement, closing his eyes as he listens to the music.

“This might just work,” she says smiling, as she looks up to him.

He opens his eyes, looking down to her, smiling, ‘I think it will.”

She leans up to kiss him soundly, placing her head on his chest after.

They sit in silence again for a few minutes.

“Oh my god,” she shouts, shifting so she is looking up at him, her arms folded on his chest, “I can just see Lon’s face now.” She closes her eyes smiling deviously. “I can just see his crestfallen face when he finds out that I am the studio head and we are going to make all these amazing pictures, and that he’s fired… It’s better than a dream, Ace. The best gift of all.”

He laughs, watching her dramatically speak with her eyes closed, smiling dreamily.

“You really do hate Lon, don’t you? What the hell happened with you two?”

She opens her eyes, looking at him, exclaiming, “I didn’t tell you?”

“No,” he laughs, running his hand up her arm to her shoulder.

“Oh!” She sits up quickly, looking around and spotting her cigarette case on the chaise lounge.

“Well…” she declares, as she kneels up on the bed, crawling to the chaise lounge to retrieve the cigarette and lighter. She gestures to him a cigarette, but he declines by shaking his head.

She lights the cigarette, throwing the case and lighter back onto the chaise lounge.

“It was fine at first…” she starts, “Afterall, he was just in charge of your healthcare and you put me in charge of everything else. I still don’t understand why you would have allowed him control over your health!” She shouts taking another draw of her cigarette and exhaling a cloud of smoke.

“Avis, do you really think with the way we were before I had the heart attack, that I wouldn’t be sure if you pulled the plug if I was on life support?” He laughs, watching her shocked expression.

“I would never do that! You were still my husband,” she shouts, laughing incredulously.

“Well, I didn’t know you wouldn’t. I was convinced you were fantasising of all of the ways you wanted to see my demise,” he laughs, touching her foot sitting by his hip, beginning to knead it.

She waves her hand in the air, taking another draw of her cigarette.

“Anyway! He was against me casting Camille in Meg. He was constantly telling me all the downfalls and how I was going to sink the studio. He was in my ear all the time and so I fired him when I decided to cast Camille.”

“But, why?” He asks laughing.

“He wasn’t on board with our vision! And every time he would give me information, he would speak to me like I was a fucking idiot. He was a condescending ass! He just thought I was a stupid woman,” she shouts, throwing her arms around, her face grimacing.

“He said that?!”

“Well… no. But you could just see it in his stupid fucking smirk and his beady little eyes,” she declares squinting her eyes and pointing at them.

He laughs heartily, as she continues puffing her cigarette.

“But even though I fired him, he kept on spreading shit around about the picture, about me. He was probably behind the burning crosses as well! He’s probably one of them!”

“Avis!” He exclaims. “You can’t make accusations like that!”

“Why not? He fits the bill. He hates everyone but white men!”

He shakes his head, laughing at how passionate she is about her distain for Lon.

“So, he comes into the studio right after we had the burning crosses that morning. Well he BARGES in even though Miss Stinson tries to stop him. Then the condescending ass is like _Don’t get up_ ,” she says shaking her head impersonating him. “I’m like _I WON’T!_ ” Grimacing. _Why the fuck would she get up for fucking Lon?_

“Then he had the audacity to come in and demand that due to recent events the production of _Meg_ had to be halted. Like who the fuck does he think he is, Ace? YOU put ME in charge of the studio and it’s running, finances, bla bla, you name it, and he storms into MY office and DEMANDS that we halt production. He’s a fucking attorney. Not the fucking FBI. So, I reminded him that I fired him weeks ago and he said that that didn’t lie with me, it only lied with you.”

She raises her hand now, pointing at him, her face raging, “And so help me Ace, if you don’t fucking fire him, I will leave you!”

He laughs, holding his hands up in surrender, “Wow, wow, I told you we would. How did I get dragged into this?”

“You hired the son of a bitch! So anyway, after he said that I was ready to call the police and have him forcibly removed. Potentially with me hanging off him with my hand’s clutches around his neck. However, then he said he had no choice but to take legal action. LEGAL FUCKING ACTION! Against fucking who? Against the person who was in charge of her own fucking studio? So, I reminded him it was my studio, and you know what he said?”

She pauses for dramatic effect, raising her eyebrows at him, as he throws his hands up, waiting for her to continue.

“I can see this is EMOTIONAL FOR YOU!”

His mouth drops open in shock.

“and with everything that’s been happening, you’re CLEARLY NOT THINKING CLEARLY!” She shouts with her eyes bulging, her mouth lying wide open, waiting for his reaction.

“Shit,” he puffs, bringing his hand up to his head, chuckling. 

“It’s not funny!” She shouts, finishing her cigarette and moving to the bedside table to put the cigarette out.

“No, what’s funny is how much of a moron he is. That was just never going to end well when you were the receiver. I learned that many a time,” he continues laughing, as he watches her climb back onto the bed, lying with her head at the foot of it.

“Yeah, it didn’t. For him,” she says, moving her dressing gown skirt over her legs, perching on her elbow to look at him.

“So, what did you say?”

“I did the most frightening thing of all. I went sweet,” she says smirking.

“Shit,” he says, laughing with her.

“Yeah, I said, _Oh, so a woman makes a decision and suddenly she’s irrational._ Then he started flapping like _oh no, no, that’s not what I- uhm- no.”_ She laughs loudly at the impersonation of his splutter.

“So, I pounced, like YES YOU DID! YOU WALTZ IN HERE WHENEVER YOU DESIRE TO REMIND ME THAT YOU ARE THERE, ALWAYS WATCHING! Then I went really low, to try and frighten him, and said, _By the time you get your ducks in a row for our little day in court, my picture will be in the can._ He didn’t like that, because everyone in the room started laughing, so he stormed out. And I just shouted _SEE YOU IN COURT LON!_ after him,” she finishes laughing loudly.

“Wait, there were people in the room?”

“Yeah,” she chuckles, “we were having a meeting. It was Dick, Ellen, Henry, Camille, Raymond, and Archie. And when I looked back around to them, they were all smirking at me. I think they were proud I stood up to him. Wait, I’m sure I told you this!”

“Nah, you haven’t,” he laughs. “Jesus that must have been embarrassing. I’m surprised you didn’t do worse if I’m honest. He really is getting too ahead of himself. As soon as he gets an ounce of power, it goes to his head.”

“Oh, wait! It’s when you were in your coma! That’s what it was. The doctor told me to speak to you when you were in your coma and I told you about it,” she reasons, picking at the bedsheet.

“Ahh, that makes sense. Well, I’m glad you stood up for yourself. In the end of the day, I’m sure Lon was trying to protect my interests, but I put you in charge, not him,” he reasons, continuing to knead the arch of her foot.

“Do not defend him even slightly,” she points at him again warningly, “but I have to admit, it felt amazing to put him in his place. Of course, that was until this morning when he won round three because of you,” she laughs, looking at him through her eyelashes.

“How many times are you going to bring this up?” He asks, letting go of her foot and throwing his hands up.

She laughs heartily, sitting up to crawl towards him.

“I’m kidding. But on a serious note, I want only one thing,” she says, moving her leg over his hip to sit on his groin, as he moves his hands automatically to her thighs.

“What?” He asks suspiciously, as she smiles slyly, grasping the collar of his pyjamas, running her hands along it, his hands roaming against the satin of her dressing gown. She leans down to press her chest against his, kissing him deeply, moaning into the kiss as her hand encloses around his neck, pushing him into her mouth as her tongue contends with his. She pulls back, as he breaths deeply looking at her lustfully.

She unties her dressing gown, slipping it off her shoulders as her chest heaves, then down her arms, completely uncovering her as it slips down her body onto the covers over his legs behind her, revealing her naked form.

She brings her lips close to his again, breathing against them, as his hands find her hips, pushing against his groin bucks against her.

“I want to be the one to fire him,” she breathes, running her hands against his chest, undoing his buttons as she gyrates her hips, coaxing her centre against his hard length.

He laughs, throwing his head back.

“Granted,” he agrees when he looks back to her, seeing her smiling widely, taking her lips hard against his. But she pulls back again, never ceasing the movements of her hips.

“But you need to be there,” she says, taking one of his hands from her hip and leading it to her centre until he touches her intimately on her nub. “He won’t take a telling from me,” she moans, closing her eyes briefly and then looking back down to him. “He will only believe it if you’re there backing me up. But I want to be the one who does it.” He feels his arousal heightening as he feels how wet she is as she grinds against him still through his pyjamas, watching her as she breathes loudly, her eyes boring into his.

“Whatever you want, babe,” he accepts, continuing to rub against her hard, rotating his fingers as he watches her body writhe before him.

She gasps, smiling widely, her expression quickly contorting into pleasure as he lightly runs his fingers up her back, the shivers tingling through her whole body. He presses her body closer until it against him so he can begin kissing her neck, hitting the sweet spot at her pulse point. Her eyes close again as the pleasure he is giving her takes over her whole body. She runs her hands to his shoulders under his pyjama shirt, scratching her nails up his neck to the back of his head. She moves her hand quickly to his chin, pulling it up, and curling her lip as she sees the arousal in his eyes, she kisses him fiercely as he responds fervently. She pulls away from her kiss as she feels the intensity of her orgasm building, pulsating through her body. She throws her head back, moving her hand behind her to grasp his thigh, her other sitting on his shoulder as she continues to grind against his hand, moaning loudly into the room, his breathing ragged as the vision of her in the throes of passion turns him on even more. 

“Oh my god! Are you ready?”

He ignores her, seeing her breasts open and waiting to be taken, he fires forward bringing his lips against one to kiss and bite deliciously. She screams louder at the sensation as she moves her hand from his shoulder to the back of his head to push him in further.

 _This wasn’t just about her; she had to give him something back_.

She pushes her hand off of his thigh, to move in between them, pushing her hand inside his pyjama bottoms to palm his member, releasing it from its constriction. She begins rubbing up and down his rock-hard length, stroking wildly as she watches his mouth fall open, his breathing becoming more ragged as she continues gyrating herself against his hand. His hand falls away from her centre to grasp her hip, the hand on her back pulling her in closer to take her mouth, swirling his tongue with hers as he moans into her mouth at the sensations invading him.

“Avis… honey…” he mumbles against her lips. **He’s ready for her. Overwhelmed by the passion between them.**

“I know,” she breathes. “I know.” _How had she ever been satisfied with plain old sex before when this what it was like now, she will never know. This connection was so intense and building higher and higher._

She raises up on her knees, clinging to his shoulder, never breaking her kiss with him as his lips follow her. She moves her hips closer to him, steering his member into her until she can sink down fully onto him, feeling him throbbing inside her. She moans highly into his mouth, as he groans sliding into her so easily, tightening his grip on her hips, as she gyrates against him again, moving her hand against his chest to caress there.

She pulls back from their kiss, both of them gasping in rhythm as she begins rocking against him, her whole-body tingling at the sensations running through her.

She gasps as she rides him, whimpering as he continues hitting the spot within her. He continues thrusting as hard as he can into her from his position, instead controlling her hips to help her continue slamming onto him harder. She begins quickening her pace, grasping at the top of the headboard of the bed to help give her leverage against him, her screams becoming louder as his cries join her.

“Fuck, Avis!” He shouts watching her as she continues arching against him, on the brink of her orgasm.

“Oh, Ace! You’re so good! I’m going to…” She screams loudly, her voice high, echoing in the room as she frantically slams against him, her clit grazing against his pelvis, her mouth lying open, as her eyes shut tightly.

“That’s it, babe. Come on. Let go for me,” he grunts, kissing her exposed neck as her head is thrown back. She pushes his head tighter into her as one of his hands comes up to press against her breast, her eyes bursting open. The sensations are too much as she feels herself fall over the edge, her orgasm exploding as her hand tightens on the headboard and her whole body trembles, the juices within her gushing over him, pulsating around him.

“ACE! UGH! YES! JESUS CHRIST! KEEP GOING!”

He had been attempting to hold back for her, but as soon as he feels her orgasm take over her, he erupts within her, letting out a guttural moan over her shoulder. He licks clumsily up her neck to capture her mouth as he continues moaning into her mouth, releasing completely within her as he continues his thrusting hard up against her. She tightens her hold around his neck, her hand falling from the headboard to wrap around him, tightening her whole body to him as the convulsions within her continue. Her thighs become weak against him when her climax begins to dissipate, stopping her movements. He pulls back from her mouth, his chest heaving, his heart palpitating, as he attempts to catch his breath, feeling the final jerks of his member deplete.

She pulls back from him, hands grazing the skin of his shoulders as she looks at him, her chest surging, her body drained from the intensity.

“You okay?” _She could see he was struggling again. However, this time she was trying not to jump to conclusions. She would just watch him closely._

He nods, frantically, lying his head back against the headboard. **What had Tom said? Open your body. Shoulders back, arms to the side, tilt your head back.**

He does exactly that, looking to the ceiling as he tries to breathe in through his nose. **This one was definitely worse than the others. He just had to breathe through it and not panic.**

She watches him, pressing onto her knees rapidly, to allow him to slip out of her, sitting back on his thighs as she places her palm over his heart, watching his face for any sign of contortion. She glances over to the telephone. _Okay so if something was about to happen, she was right next to the telephone. An ambulance could be here in no time. No, Avis. It was fine. He would be fine._

She watches closely, biting her lip as his breathing begins to improve as he practices his exercises. Eventually, when he feels he can manage it, he looks down to her, seeing her quickly remove her lip from her teeth, placing a smile on her face for him.

He gasps laughing, as he lifts a hand from her thigh to her face, stroking her cheek, watching as her smile becomes genuine, her hand coming up to caress his as it comes in closer.

“That was pretty good,” he chokes out, his breathing still a little ragged.

“Yeah, not bad,” she jokes, as the hand he still has lying on her thigh taps her for her cheek.

He moves his hand from her cheek around to the back of her neck, under her hair, coaxing her to come closer. **He feels overwhelmingly emotional right now. He hadn’t expected that. He can see the worry in her face, and he can’t deny he had a moment there were he was a bit worried himself. But here she was trying to hide it from him. They didn’t seem to be able to enjoy their love making at the moment, since the breathing took all the attention in their aftermath. But here he was having just made passionate love with her; their bond, their marriage stronger than ever, and she didn’t even get to enjoy it. He was so lucky. I mean, look at her. She was beautiful, she was fascinating, she was his absolute everything.**

“C’mere,” he says, as she leans forward to him, meeting his loving kiss half-way. He feels his chest heave at the raw emotion of love he feels for her, attempting to pour it into the kiss. It’s overwhelming.

When she draws back, he looks into her eyes, holding her inches away from his face. She sees the seriousness in his expression, his eyes filling up.

“What’s wrong?” She asks worriedly, moving her hand up to wipe his tear away.

“Nothing. I just absolutely love you,” he says as he feels his chest bursting from the emotion.

She feels her eyes filling herself, smiling brightly.

“I love you too, darling. With all my heart,” she chokes out, moving her lips to give a deep kiss again.

When she pulls back, she laughs lightly, wiping her eyes, pushing her hair back away from her forehead, as he watches her in awe.

“I’m sorry,” he says quietly, still staring at her.

She looks up at him immediately.

“Why?”

“Because we never get to enjoy it because of my breathing after,” he tells her plainly.

She snorts, swinging her leg off him, to move off him, “well, I don’t know about you, but I thoroughly enjoyed it.”

“I’m not saying I didn’t enjoy the sex itself. I mean that we can never just bask in it because my breathing goes crazy,” he says looking at her solemnly.

“I know, honey, but it will get better with time. But the sex itself, the most passionate and the best I’ve ever had. Without a doubt,” she smiles.

However, he doesn’t seem to join her enthusiasm, so she continues.

“We only had sex for the first time a few hours ago. And it has been several times, so no wonder the breathing is all over the place. I think we have outdone ourselves, don’t you?”

She looks at him appraisingly as she gathers her dressing gown, putting her arms in it one by one.

“I suppose,” he says yawning loudly.

“Come on, honey. You must be exhausted. Why don’t you lie down and we can get some sleep?” She says moving the pillows behind him as he shuffles down the bed to lie down wordlessly. She moves off the bed, going straight to the record player to turn it off, placing the record back into the sleeve and into the box. She moves next to her dresser, taking out a coral chiffon night gown as she carries it to the bathroom. After freshening up and changing into the dressing gown, she quickly pins up the front of her hair into two curls, wanting to move the retched things out of her face.

She moves back into the bedroom, turning the light off as she moves over into the bed, under their covers. She eases closer to him, wrapping her arm around him as she curls into her own pillow, feeling his chest rise and fall easier against her arm. He moves his hand on top of her forearm, stroking his fingers there.

“You okay?” She asks, opening her eyes attempting to make him out in the dark room.

“Yeah, I just feel old and incapable,” he reveals quietly.

She leans up on her elbow next to him. “Ace, we had sex several times tonight and you honestly blew my mind every time. You’re not incapable because you breathe heavy afterward. Like you said before, everyone breathes heavy after sex, we are just both a bit anxious about it because of your heart attack, but we will get used to it. And the more you exercise, the recovery time will lessen,” she comforts him, stroking her hand across his chest.

“I know,” is all he answers quietly.

She leans up onto his chest, kissing him square on the mouth, laughing when she misses the first time around due to the darkness.

“I love you, I need you, I want you, and we will work together through this. You’re not going anywhere, because I will come after you if you do,” she jokes, lying back down next to him.

“I love you, Avis. I want and need you too,” he says, turning on his side to hug her closely into her chest, his other hand settling under the pillow. She sighs into his chest, wrapping her arm around his waist tightly. His hands caress her shoulders as he lies with his eyes open, an anxiety in his stomach, a strange feeling in his chest and back. 

“Get some sleep, darling,” she sighs, closing her eyes as her breathing begins to even out, falling asleep.

He lies awake listening to her even breathing.

**He was so lucky.**

Eventually sleep overtakes him as he clutches her closely, the only relief from the horrible feeling in the pit of his stomach.

\---

She awakes the next morning with him wrapped around her back, breathing heavily against her neck. She smiles at the sensation of him surrounding her, his arm heavy around her waist. She turns around to look at him slowly, ensuring not to wake him, looking at his relaxed sleeping expression, though she hears his breathing is slightly wheezy. _She would need to see if that was still there when he was awake._

She looks at her watch, as his arm still dons her waist.

 _8.30am_. _It was still early. She would allow him to sleep. They got to sleep late last night._

She moves his hand slightly to sit up, however, she feels his grip around her waist instantly tighten as he pulls her closer.

“Where you going?” He grumbles, as she lies back down, looking at him, his eyes still closed.

“I was going to go and get some breakfast,” she answers, stroking his hand with her thumb.

“What time’s it?” He groans again, coughing a little, his eyes still not open.

“8.30. Go back to sleep for a while. I will bring you up breakfast on a tray,” she says moving over to him to give him a sound kiss, which he returns lazily. She gets up off the bed quietly, moving her slippers on. She takes a last look at him before she opens the door to go downstairs, smiling as she watches him shift onto his other side to face away from her, groaning still. She stifles a laugh as she leaves the room, gliding down the staircase.

She moves directly into the dining room, looking for Gertie.

Gertie arrives immediately, smiling knowingly at her.

“Good morning, Mrs Amberg,” she says kindly, looking away a little embarrassed.

“It is a good morning, isn’t it, Gertie?” Avis says enthusiastically, peeking through the curtains on the doors to the back garden to see the glorious sun outside. _Maybe they could sit by the pool again when they arrived home from work. She would call Dick after she took Ace up his breakfast. Ace said he wanted a decision by 10am so she would call before then._

“Can I get you breakfast, Mrs Amberg?”

“Yes please, Gertie. Fruit and some tea, please,” she says opening the French doors, taking a few steps outside, breathing in the fresh air.

_What a wonderful day to be alive. What a brilliant new start. A husband she adored. A husband who adored her. A studio to co-chair. A daughter to look after. A beautiful house to live in. A future ahead of her. What more could a person want?_

She looks around at the trees, at the clouds in the sky, smiling, before moving back inside as Gertie brings a plate of fruit, setting it next to the newspaper, and bringing in tea with her favourite cup and saucer.

“Thank you, Gertie. Would you be able to prepare a tray for me to take up to Mr Amberg also? Just some fruit, maybe a croissant, and some juice,” she smiles gently, sitting on the seat and picking up the teapot to pour herself a cup.

“Of course,” Gertie smiles, turning back into the kitchen.

 _Avis feels happier and more content than she thinks she has ever felt in her whole life._ She picks up the newspaper looking at the headlines, whilst picking up a grape to pop into her mouth.

She begins reading the folded newspaper, picking up the odd piece of fruit and sipping her tea. She finds she reads the same line over and over as she thinks back to last night.

 _They had been so passionate and loving. She could feel herself aching, her centre still pulsating at the thought of it._ _She felt such a connection with him that was even stronger than what they had before it had all gone to shit. God, she loves him. She loves him with all her heart._

Gertie enters, carrying the tray she had asked for then, “Mrs Amberg!”

She hears Gertie address her, knocking her out of her thought process, as she looks around to her.

“In twenty years, I’ve never heard you singing at the table before,” Gertie says kindly.

_She didn’t even realise she had been singing. She supposed she had been. Well, why shouldn’t she sing. She was happy._

“Well… I had a good night,” Avis responds saucily. “That’s all I’ll say,” she says returning back to her tea to take a sip.

She doesn’t see Claire until she hears her voice in front of her.

“We could hear you,” Claire groans, disgusted, as she sits down across from Avis.

_So, they had heard._

“Kept me awake until 4am,” Claire continues as Avis throws her paper down onto the table, looking at her smiling. _She has nothing to be embarrassed; she was a grown woman who made love with her husband._

“It was… nauseating,” Claire finishes, holding her teacup up to Gertie, who pours her tea.

_She’s too damn happy to feel embarrassed by that. Claire was a young woman now. She wasn’t an idiot and Avis had nothing to hide. She’s glad to see that Claire is finally about to act as if any daughter would with their parents. Everything was changing for the better._

Avis chuckles, shaking her head, watching Claire’s facial expression and reaction. However, she has bigger things on her mind as she puts her teacup down.

“Gertie, we have a big week of planning ahead. Get all the linens out of the storage and call the tent company, because on Saturday we are having a party,” she declares, looking to Claire excitedly. This gets Claire’s attention as she shuts the magazine she had been sifting through to look up to her mother, giving her full attention.

“Ace is going to announce he’s making me co-president of the studio!” She shouts excitedly to Claire, as Claire also places down her teacup shocked.

“What?”

“I never thought I would see the day,” Gertie comments, as Avis stands up, picking up the tray for Ace to take it up to him.

“Neither did I. I keep pinching myself,” she says, looking at Claire who is astonished, clasping her hands over her mouth.

“Mother! That’s unbelievable!” She shouts, watching Avis as she walks towards her with the tray.

“For once, daddy got something right,” Avis whispers, leaning down to kiss Claire on the side of the cheek, then standing up quickly to walk out of the room and up the staircase.

She moves slowly, not wanting to trip over her long night gown. She takes a moment to balance the tray with one hand when she is a few stairs up, grasping her skirt into her hand and bringing her hand back onto the tray as she continues to climb the stairs, smiling joyfully.

She finally reaches the landing, dropping the skirt, walking to the door of her bedroom.

“Ace, I have your breakfast,” she announces immediately, having to rouse him from sleep so they can make a head start into the studio soon.

She moves directly to the bed, placing the tray down on it.

She saunters immediately around the bed, when she doesn’t hear a response. _Maybe he would just be happy that it wasn’t porridge he had to endure._

“Ace…” She says trying to rouse him again, “I have something sweet for you,” she flirtatiously says softly, swaying skirt of her dressing gown from side to side.

She stops dead in her tracks, looking at him.

_Is he… breathing?_


	31. Epilogue

**_Three years later…_ **

The air is warm, hundreds of people surrounding her, though she can’t hear a thing, simply awestruck by the beautiful art before her. Her eyes drift from the beautiful blue water, watching it pour into the huge pool before her, then up to the huge statues in the middle. Her eyes drift up to the very top of the fountain, her hand raising to her brow to further shield from the sun that her sunglasses do now allow, so she can read at the writing inscribed at its top that she had not noticed on her last visit.

‘CLEMENS XII XII PONT MAX’

_She has no idea what that means. They really should have something to explain this to people. She assumes it’s the ruler or the pope or something. Everything here was inscribed with a Roman name, and it usually was that._

“Mother?” She hears a voice shock her out of her thoughts.

Suddenly all the noise and bustle invade her. She hears the water pouring from the fountain, the noise of people surrounding her talking, the clicking of camera shutters.

“Hmm?” She turns around to look at Claire.

She watches as Claire strokes her swollen stomach, looking at Avis confusedly whilst Jack over her shoulder is busy looking around at the people. _Likely worried he was going to be spotted and harassed by a fan._

“I said, do you know what its name is in Italian?” Gesturing her head to the extravagant fountain before them with her head, her eyes bulging.

“Oh,” Avis recovers, looking back to the fountain. “Ehm.. Fontana di Trevi,” she offers in her best attempt at an Italian accent, smiling kindly.

“Hmm… it’s beautiful. Truly beautiful,” Claire estimates, looking to the fountain.

“Yes, it is,” Avis says smiling. After a long silence taking in every part of the beautiful design, she speaks again.

“You know the last time your father and I were here, maybe 7 years ago, just after the war, we were fighting,” she begins, happy she could laugh about it now.

“Hardly a shocker,” Claire comments, soothing her stomach.

“Yeah. We were fighting like cat and dog, sniping at one another. We were only here a couple of days, barely did anything on that trip together because he hob knobbed with who knows, I can’t remember who now, but this is one of the only places we ended up together. And I remember we had been insulting one another because he had been moaning that he wanted to go back to the hotel but I wanted to go shopping, and on the walk back to the hotel we ended up here, and we were just… awestruck,” she continues, smiling up at the beautiful fountain, recalling her memory.

“It was probably one of the only pleasant moments we shared together in those horrible years. I thought it was absolutely stunning. It was the first time we had been remotely kind to one another, when he asked if I wanted to go closer down to the water as he escorted me down the stone steps. Then, we must have sat in silence for five minutes, just looking at it. I remember I came back into reality and when I looked over to him, and he looked so happy, so dazzled by it, he looked like he was almost about to spout a tear,” she laughs, looking around to her, choking up a little. “And it still has the same effect. It’s still just as stunning.”

When she finishes, she looks back around to the fountain, a sudden lump in her throat as she feels suddenly struck with a wave of emotion.

“It is beautiful. I wish he were here. To see it again. To be here with us,” Claire comments solemnly, looking down to her swollen stomach, rubbing it soothingly.

“He is in a way,” she smiles, her eyes filling as she looks up at the huge statues again.

“But I mean physically,” Claire huffs.

“I know, darling. I do too, but we shouldn’t get downhearted that he isn’t. He wouldn’t want that,” she says trying to blink back her tears concealed by her sunglasses.

Jack can feel the tone of the mood dropping so steps in to try and lift it back up.

“Hey! Why don’t we get a photograph?” He asks, grabbing the camera hanging off a strap on his shoulder.

“No, Jack! I look like a whale!” Claire protests, shaking her head.

“You look beautiful,” he says, leaning in to peck her lips, rubbing her stomach lightly, as she smiles pulling back. Avis turns around, witnessing the sweet moment. _She was truly happy for them. She was unsure how they would last together but they had proven to be a very sweet and caring couple. Coping with the subsequent fame that had come with the success of Meg had been a whirlwind for them both. Jack had become the heartthrob, unable to walk down the street without being chased, whilst Claire had been picked up by numerous fashion magazines as a new face of glamour. Every girl wanted to be her and with Jack. They had become the ‘it’ couple in Hollywood, and it had been great for business. Both of them were able to star in another movie together before Claire had begun to show. However, she was six months along now, going on seven. It wouldn’t be long until she was back at the studio, able to pick her career back up where she left off._

Claire walks over to Avis at the edge of the fountain, wrapping her arm around her mother’s shoulder to pose for a photograph.

“All right, Mrs Amberg. Get in tighter,” he says looking through the lens, waving his hand to gesture for her to hug Claire closer. _Was he ever going to just call her Avis? Jesus._

Avis moves in tighter, wrapping her arm around Claire’s waist, smiling brightly. 

A young man and who she can only assume is his wife, come up behind Jack, tapping him on the shoulder though, speaking in Italian to him. Jack looks at him confused, then back to Avis and Claire for some assistance. However, they both shrug, knowing little Italian themselves. However, the man makes clear his offer, pointing to the camera, then to Jack, and then over to the two women, gesturing that he would take a photograph of them all by swirling his finger around.

“Oh! You are offering to take a photograph of us all?” Gesturing his own hand in circles at the three of them, whilst the man nods with a huge smile on his face. Jack moves the camera strap from his shoulder, handing the camera to the man and jumping over next to Claire to pose next to the ladies. _A bold move, in her opinion. What if the guy just ran off with his camera? It was expensive._

However, Jack’s trust clearly was spot on as the man kindly took a photograph of them and handed the camera back smiling.

“Thank you, Sir! Uhm… grazie…” Jack says awkwardly, as the couple nod and walk away.

Avis snorts laughing, watching Jack attempt to communicate with the Italian guy; then turning back around to the fountain taking another look.

“What time is it?” She hears Claire asking Jack behind her.

“Just after 1,” he answers behind her.

“Do you want to find somewhere for lunch then? We can go shopping at Via de Condotti after? I’m going to have to go back to the hotel soon for a nap. I’m getting exhausted carrying this one around,” Claire says, as Avis looks around to see Claire wipe her brow.

“Yeah, that’s fine. Are you okay?” she asks concerned.

“Yeah, just need a seat for a little rest,” Claire says beginning to climb the steps up to the surrounding cafés. She follows them, taking a last look at the striking fountain before her, before accompanying them up the street towards the Spanish steps. _Would this be the last time she would ever see it?_

\---

They lunch at a beautiful café, enjoying Italian dishes, before donning the expensive stores that Via de Condotti had to offer. Gucci, Balenciaga, Dior, Givenchy, Balmain, Chanel. _This was the part of this trip that she was sure Ace would have been happy to miss. He hated hanging around whilst she spent thousands of dollars._

They spend hours traipsing in and out of each store, trying things on, selecting items that you would only be able to get in Rome and no other place in the world. As time went on, she could see Claire becoming more exhausted and Jack becoming increasingly bored. Luckily as they reached the end of the narrow street, they were directly in front of their hotel.

 _The Grand Hotel Plaza._ She loved this hotel. It’s opulence and location were second to none. It was exclusive in its ability to secure a room and she had been lucky enough to obtain the Pietro Mascagni Presidential Suite with a stunning view of Via del Corso, a Basilica facing her bedroom window. _She literally had history directly outside her window. What more could you wish for in Roma?_

When she is outside the door to her room, Claire and Jack continue down the hallway to their own room.

“I’m going to lie down for a while. It’s 4.30 just now. Should we have dinner at 7?” Claire directs to her mother, stopping half-way down the corridor; Jack in her wake holding several bags.

“That’s fine, darling. Do you want to dine on the terrace downstairs if you’re tired? We can go out another evening?”

“Yeah, that fine,” Claire sighs in relief.

“We will come by your room to get you at 7 then,” Jack declares, pushing a waddling Claire further down the corridor.

“All right,” Avis agrees, opening the door to her suite and closing it behind her.

She takes in the large living room, beautifully decorated with elegant antique furniture used by Mascagni himself. She looks up to the ceiling, taking in its stunning design. _She had been here for two days and still she can’t help but look up and take it in its beauty._

She eventually continues her walk the bedroom, taking in the huge grandfather clock on the way, then planting her various bags onto the sofa next to the window. She walks across the room, sighing whilst removing her jacket and hanging up in the wardrobe, kicking her heels off in the process. She begins removing her earrings whilst moving over to the desk to place them down. _It was so goddamned hot._

She moves into the bathroom, stripping herself off completely to jump into the shower. After quickly refreshing herself, and slipping on her deep red silk dressing gown, she re-enters her bedroom, collecting her purse from the bed and taking out her cigarettes. She takes one out, lighting it, as she walks over to the huge windows at the edge of her bedroom, depositing the case and lighter on the sofa as she passes it.

She looks down onto the street, taking a huge drag of her cigarette and exhaling out of the window. She leans against the stone of the barrier, looking down at the people bustling around. She sees people exiting the basilica, excitedly in discussion.

_She would need to venture over there and have a look inside. She had never gone in the last time she had been here. The last time they had had the suite on the opposite side of the hotel, facing St Peter’s Dome, though it was so off in the distance and everything else around it seemed so unimpressive. She much preferred this view. She could watch the people and take in the Roman street architecture. She felt here she was really within the city, rather than hidden away._

She takes another draw of her cigarette, exhaling as she stands up straight, leaning her hip against the barrier to look over the whole city. _She felt alive here._

She takes another draw of the cigarette, wrapping her arms around herself as she looks around. She sees couples strolling, parents chasing their children in circles, a young child no more than 2 or 3 slamming an ice cream fully into their face as their mother panics at the mess. _She had to giggle at that._ She sees people flying down the street on their bicycles, on their motor cars, weaving in and out of the copious amounts of people. Then there were the cars arriving outside the hotel whilst a man tried to sell flowers on the street to those exiting the cars. 

_The guy she just seen dive under the canopy looks just like him._ Her heart wrenches. _He should be here. It just wasn’t fair. She misses him terribly. If he were here, he would be standing directly behind her with his arms wrapped around her waist, his chest pressed into her back, kissing her neck. She can almost feel his lips against that crux that she hadn’t felt in what seemed like forever. Instead, she was here alone; wrapping her arms around herself. Well, she couldn’t say she was alone. She had Claire and Jack here, but it wasn’t the same. They were a young couple, wishing to spend a little time their selves also. Instead a pregnant Claire was attempting to care for her, completely aware that she wasn’t coping with his absence. She would need to make an effort to seem cheerier so they could enjoy themselves more. She should be the one caring for Claire, not vice versa. He would have loved this view. Another experience she was robbed of. Another time she was forced to be solitary. She had never thought after their reconciliation she would have to experience that again, and it tore her heart out that she did. Another trip to Rome not at all how she had dreamed it would be. God, she wished he was here._

She can feel her eyes welling up, as she quickly wipes them away. _She had to get a grip._

She hears the telephone ring from the bedroom. _Shit, it could be Claire._ She fumbles between the sofa and the coffee table, attempting to reach the telephone in time. She grasps it, dropping it as it clangs off of the edge of the bedside table.

“Shit!” She shouts, fumbling to collect the telephone as it hangs off the cord, attempting to stump out her cigarette in the ashtray also. Finally, when she gets the telephone to her ear, she’s extremely agitated.

“Hello! Sorry I dropped the telephone!”

“Hiya, babe.” She smiles widely, hearing his deep voice on the other side of the telephone.

“Sorry, who is this?” She teases, twisting the cord around her finger as she sits on the bed.

“Who else calls you babe?”

“Pope Pius, is that you? I told you not to call me here! This line isn’t secure! Anyone could be listening!” She exclaims dramatically, lying back on the bed and settling into the pillows, grinning. _God, she loved to tease him._

She hears him laugh loudly down the receiver; she giggles also.

“I can see I’ve been replaced. I hope he’s okay with converting to Judaism,” he quips. She laughs loudly, humming after.

“Mmm… hello darling. I was just thinking about you,” she says seductively, ready to drop her pretence, her arm draped over her head, running her hand across her hair.

“I was thinking about you too. How’s Rome?”

“Shit without you here,” she answers quickly.

“I’m sure it’s not that bad,” he says laughing a little.

“No, it’s nice. Beautiful actually. I just wish you were here.”

“I know, honey. But one of us had to go to the negotiations in London and we agreed you should be with Claire,” he reminds her.

“I should have come with you. Claire has Jack to look after her. I’m just dampening their time here,” she whines.

“Nah, there is no point in both of us suffering here, and we had everything arranged already for Rome. How’s Claire doing?”

“She’s fine. She gets tired easily, but that’s to be expected. We’re having dinner on the terrace tonight. She’s too tired to go out. I think we’re going to have to try and take it a little easier tomorrow with her.”

“That’s good. What about Jack?”

“He’s fine. We went shopping today. You will be glad you missed out on that. But the poor boy just stood around and hold bags for hours, hiding behind mannequins, trying not to be spotted!” She laughs heartily.

“Aww god. You’re right. I’m glad I missed that. But don’t forget that Ingrid always hangs about shopping there so if you bump into her over there, try and coax her back to Hollywood. Fuck the idiots in the Senate who are trying to keep her out. Make sure she knows that she always has a place at the studio,” he says seriously.

“I will. I’ve not seen her anywhere though.”

“Hmm… Is that all you did today then?”

“No. We went to Palazzo Barberini this morning. It was stunning. It had the most beautiful art and sculptures inside and the architecture. They had this statue and it was a naked woman, covered in a veil. It was the most exquisite thing I’ve ever seen. Like how do they do that with stone, Ace? It looks so realistic. You can see that there is a veil on her and then you can see the line on her stomach and how it drapes across her face. I was astounded. I wish you had been here to see it,” she finishes sadly.

“Hm… that sounds interesting,” he says quietly, thinking.

“Ace, I swear to god if you try and telephone someone to buy that statue and I come home to it in my living room, I will kill you,” she laughs warningly.

He laughs heartily at the suggestion.

“Don’t worry! I won’t try and buy it!”

“You better not. Then we went to the Trevi fountain. It was so beautiful as well. I told Claire about when we went last time and we were fighting.”

“Yeah, the one thing that could shut us both up for two minutes from snipping. So, it’s not just a masterpiece, it’s a miracle worker,” he laughs heartily.

She laughs in agreement, moving her hand away from her hair to twirl the cord around her finger again.

“Yeah. Claire said she misses you as well. She wishes you were here,” she says sadly again.

“I know, babe. I wish I was there as well.”

“How are the negotiations going? Did you meet with Hitchcock?”

“Yeah, the negotiations are strenuous. I think Paramount is after him as well, and he’s stubborn. He’s contracted to do a movie with the BBC but he wants to get into Hollywood. I just suppose it’s about how much creative freedom we can give him over Paramount. But I’ve offered the parameters we agreed on and can afford, which I definitely think it’s going to be more than Paramount. The other studios might have tried to be a little more liberal, but they haven’t got to our level. Hitchcock definitely wants complete freedom and is willing to play the studios off against each other to get what he wants,” he relays to Avis.

“Well they sound like they are going well at least. Just stick to what we decided on. We knew he was going to be like that when we spoke to the guy who released the camp footage to us. He warned us that Hitchcock was a visionary, but apparently he’s a real artist, and that’s what we value,” she agrees.

“Yeah, but I just have a feeling he’s gonna be a pain in the ass,” he determines.

“Well, we will cross that bridge when we come to it. We just need to make sure the contract is tight so that he can’t be. But, that being said, if you think he’s going to be trouble, just withdraw. I support your judgement,” she says soothingly.

“Mm… will see how it goes…”

“Mm…”

“So, what are you doing now?”

“Just lying on the bed, talking to you,” she smiles.

“Mm... I wish I was there with you,” he whispers, as she hears background noise behind him.

“Me too,”

“It’s only been a week since I’ve been gone but I miss you,” he declares, the noise in the background increasing.

“Where are you?”

“In the reception area of the hotel. Negotiations are done for the day. We were going to go to the bar and get some dinner after,” he tells her.

“Well you know what the doctor said about alcohol. Just one or two. And tell Dick I’m relying on him to make sure you behave!”

“Don’t worry! I won’t do anything stupid! So, you’re lying on the bed. What you doing there?” He asks suggestively.

“Ace… you know the operator can hear you,” she laughs warningly.

“I thought you liked to be an exhibitionist,” he laughs lightly.

“The whole point is that only we know. Not a person on the line able to listen,” she laughs.

“Mmm…. Okay,” he says disappointed.

“If you want to do that, then either leave London to come and claim me or write me a nice letter,” she laughs.

“Do you think if I leave for the airport now anyone would notice?”

“Nah. Just our budget when it loses out on millions of dollars,” she laughs again.

“Mmm… worth it though,” he reasons.

“I’m glad you think so,” she smiles, picking at her dressing gown.

“I do… All right, babe. Dick is giving me the eye, so I had better go. I will call again tomorrow. Make sure you’re still keeping a note of all the things we are going to do when I see you next,” he chuckles.

“Already adding to it,” she says seductively.

He groans loudly down the phone as she laughs.

“Go and see Dick,” she laughs.

“All right, honey. I love you,” he says sincerely.

“I love you too, darling,” she responds.

“Bye,” he says softly.

“Bye,” she says before putting the phone on the hook.

She sits quietly, smiling widely, biting at the skin on her thumb.

_Jesus, how old was she? How can his voice and flirtation make her tingle all over. She wants him to be here. Of course, there would be a last minute need to go to London after they had booked everything. Fucking Paramount pictures. They had caught wind of this director and screenwriter after the reception of his work with the BBC and wanted to bring him on board. One of them had to go and it was better it was him anyway. He had previous relationships with the BBC and with the representatives of Hitchcock. They had no idea who she was. Also, with Claire in the condition she was in, she would have felt too anxious leaving her in a strange city. She trusted Jack, of course, but she wanted to be there to take care of Claire if she needed it. Their relationship had grown from strength to strength. She was finally able to be the mother that Claire deserved, and they had created a bond that Avis only dreamed she could have had with her mother. She was lucky Claire had been so open to it. She could easily have closed herself off to Avis and not trusted her, so she was lucky that they were here now._

_As for Ace, that had been a miracle in itself. The past three years had been the most miraculous in her life. Their love for each other had grown in a way that she never could have imagined. She thinks they have done relatively well in balancing their personal life with the studio. There had been a few hairy moments of losing their temper with each other where she had to march him out of the meeting room from everyone else and into the office to have a private argument. Though with the volume of their shouting, it likely wasn’t hidden from Miss Stinson. But all in all, they had been extremely respectful of one another and she had felt more fulfilled than ever before. She had such a huge hand in such major change and it was glorious._

_Her initial decision with Meg had caused it to break all of the records, winning most Academy Awards, advancing the fight against racism so drastically. Then they had released the first movie with a homosexual couple. That had had such a huge bombshell on the States. However, she had been so shocked at the amount of letters that had arrived to the studio, addressed to them. Thanking them for depicting it; for bringing the conversations to the forefront; and for allowing all those people – both old and young – to see their own stories before their very eyes. She was really moved by it and how much of a difference it had made. She was really interested in starting a charity for so many of the youth that were rejected from their families for something they were literally born with. She didn’t want these kids to feel embarrassed by it and live in the shadows anymore. They should celebrate it. Half of Hollywood was like that. How was it glamorous here and nowhere else? She could get Tallulah on board, speak to Eleanor about it maybe? At the moment they were in production for the movie about the Shoah, having obtained the concentration camp footage that she was yet to see and were in the casting stage for Anna Frank. It was set out to be a good year and she was excited for it._

_Then there was how fulfilled she felt when she wasn’t at the studio. They had done such a good job of making time for each other. The studio could be gruelling at times, but they always took the time to do things together, relaxing by the pool, going dancing, making love. It had been the life she always dreamed of. She was just so disappointed that he was unable to come to Rome. They had vacationed a few times and it had been the most beautiful time spent together. He had taken her to New York a few months after his heart attack when he was given the go ahead. What she didn’t realise was that it was not only to spend time with her but also to see the Yankees in the World series. Thankfully they had won, and he had been ecstatic for the whole trip. She luckily didn’t have to attend the baseball game, opting to spend time with her sisters and their families instead. She loved going to New York with him. He was so interested in going to all the places she had as a child, listening to her stories. As did she love exploring the Bronx with him, visiting his brother Adam and his wife Ruth, and their family who had been so welcoming to them. It had been a wonderful trip. They had gone to see Ethel Merman in Call me Madam on Broadway and visited Eleanor in the Waldorf. Spending time together just exploring the city in their affluent positions as they had been unable to as children._

_Then they had also been able to go to Hawaii last year. They had gathered all the people she had befriended at the studio: Claire, of course, Jack, Ellen, Ernie, Dick, John, Camille, Raymond, Archie, Rock, and even Harry. After the success of Meg, she felt she owed them all a treat. They had all had a great time. Thankfully able to go their separate ways whenever they felt like it. She and Ace had been able to relax by the pool together, explore the island, spend a few nights themselves together, making love whenever they felt like it. It had been a paradise._

_God, they had come so far from three years ago._

A knock on the door, disturbs her thought process, as she gets up quickly, ensuring her dressing gown was wrapped tightly around her, patting her hair in place from where the pillows may have disturbed it.

She swings the door open, her mouth falling open.

“Hey, babe,” he says with a smirk, leaning against the door frame. She looks down seeing him holding his large suitcase, his coat over his arm, hat in his hand.

“W-Wha- But you-,” she turns back to point to the room, looking back to him quickly, “you were- on the phone- in London. How did you-?” She asks confused, pointing at him.

“I called from downstairs,” he smirks, wrapping his arm around her waist and kissing her deeply, as she brings her hands up around his shoulder, kissing back ardently. He lifts her around the waist, moving her into the room, shutting the door behind him, dropping his briefcase to floor as he continues moving to press her up against the wall next to the door, whilst she moans into the kiss. He withdraws from the kiss, smiling as he watches her eyes closed, gulping to catch her bearings and understand his presence.

“The negotiations finished this morning. Hitchcock signed the contract to come on board. I got a flight out this afternoon. Hope I didn’t miss too much,” he smiles, as her confusion turns into a grin, processing his words. She pulls him back in for another demanding kiss, breathing heavily.

“No, not at all,” she mumbles into his mouth, still enthusiastically kissing him.

He drops his coat and hat to the floor, opting to pick her up fully under her thighs as she breaks the kiss laughing.

“Ace!” She squeals, wrapping her legs around his waist, her arms around his shoulders as he makes sure he has her secure around him, his hands firm under her behind, before beginning to walk through the living room.

“Where’s the bedroom?” He asks between firm pecks to her lips.

She laughs against his kisses, getting lost in them, letting go of his shoulder with one hand to point her arm in the direction of the bedroom to her left.

He pulls back, seeing her arm extended to his right as she moves it to the back of his head, pushing him closer to take his lips again. However, he becomes distracted by her kisses, forcing his eyes closed as he misjudges the entrance to the bedroom, catching her against the door frame, causing him to fumble in his hold of her. He pushes her tight against the door frame to catch her as she grasps the frame behind her to secure her place around him, her thighs tightening around him. He groans into her mouth, jerking her upward to secure her better again, creating a greater stirring against him, as she moves her hand to his jacket attempting to push it off when he has her back in hand. He resumes his movement to the bedroom, withdrawing from her lips so he can actually see where he’s going this time. His breathing shallow as the heat rapidly radiates between them, whilst she looks lustfully into his eyes, now able to concentrate on forcing his jacket over his shoulders.

“I can’t believe you’re here,” she breathes, pecking his lips.

When he reaches the edge of the bed, he lays her down, following her down to continue where he left off on her lips. She moans excitedly into the kiss, her arousal rising as he lets go of his grip on her, forcing his jacket fully off his back, whilst she works on undoing the tie around his neck, quickly disposing of it and working on the buttons of his shirt, never leaving his lips, as he works on his cufflinks. He starts kicking off his shoes as she begins pulling out the shirt from his pants, beginning to work on his belt. She finally withdraws from his kiss, almost hyperventilating, her arousal is so high.

He rips his shirt of his back as she lies back on her elbows watching him undress, smiling seductively at him. His eyes bore into hers, watching her as she slips the skirts of her dressing gown off her legs, running her hands up them, as her ample chest heaves.

“I missed you,” she breathes, as he tears the undershirt over his head.

“I missed you, babe,” he grunts, grasping his socks off before pushing his pants and underwear to the ground in one motion. She grins teasingly, watching him try to kick his pants off from around his ankles whilst never taking his eyes off her. He watches as her eyes skim down his body, staring at his erection rigidly standing for her; whilst her smile grows.

“I can see that,” her voice husky, as she looks back up to his eyes.

He groans, finally kicking away his pants, grasping her ankle to spread her legs, whilst she giggles wildly. He kneels up on the bed between her knees, licking his lips as he crawls up further to her, running his hands up her legs. Her lip curls as he gets closer and closer to her, as he unties the knot of her dressing gown, slipping it open, then continuing his trail, skimming his fingers up the flesh of her sides, eliciting a gasp from her. She places her hand on his shoulder receiving him as he approaches her lips, stopping to peck at the swell of her breast first. However, the closer their lips get to touching, the more she lies back on the bed, playing a delicious game of cat and mouse with him as he follows her, his arousal evident against her and his deep breaths trying to keep his control.

Finally, he is lying completely on top of her, crushing her enticingly into the bed, his lips an inch from hers as their breath mix in the air between them, their arousal further charging, whilst he manipulates the flesh back down at her hip.

“Kiss me,” she breathes, looking down at his wet lips and back up to his eyes.

He wastes no time in lunging at her, crushing his lips to hers as they moan into each other’s mouths, as he wildly runs his hands up her sides, his passion taking over him. She feels her senses heighten, matching his frantic attentions; her hips grinding against his, her fingernails scratching his shoulders, her tongue furiously matching his.

He feels her arousal heightening alongside his as he takes the weight of his pelvis off her to slip a hand between them to reach her centre.

**He wasn’t in the mood to fuck around today. He had to have her, and he had to have her now, so he wanted to get her ready as quickly as possible.**

As his fingers brush against her, he feels her wet and ready, rubbing against her clit as she retracts her mouth from his gasping, her body writhing against his, her head thrown back exposing her inviting neck.

“Oh my god,” she groans, as her eyes flutter closed, her centre clenching as she presses against his hand firmer.

He begins donning wet kisses across her neck, feeling her pulse racing as he licks and grazes his teeth there. Her moans become louder and more frequent the more pressure he applies to her centre.

He looks up to her, her eyes opening and looking back down to him when she no longer feels him pressed against her neck.

“You ready, baby?”

“Yes,” she pants, “please, Ace.”

He moves away from her centre, grabbing his patiently waiting straining length, to push against her wetness and finally fully into her.

She sighs at the feeling of him filling her, her lips parting as she shudders against him, his own eyes falling closed at the sweet relief of coming home.

“Avis…,” he groans, his head burying in her neck as he begins a rhythm against her.

“Oh, baby. Yes,” she pants, her hunger for him increasing as she matches his tempo.

He moves his mouth away from her neck, back up to her mouth, kissing her hard, his movements within her becoming frenzied. He pulls back from her mouth, his breathing becoming too ragged to maintain his kisses, as the moan nose to nose collectively.

“Honey, I’m not gonna last. Let go for me,” he grunts, pushing into her repetitively as he pushes the dressing gown off her shoulder, placing wet kisses along her collar bone.

“Harder, Ace! Harder! I’m almost there!” She screams loudly, getting lost in the build-up as he continuously hits that spot within her, alongside his lips creating a tingling throughout her whole body.

He increases his tempo, moving his hand gripping her thigh between them so he can rub at her clit.

After a few seconds, she comes crashing down with a scream.

“Yes! Yes! Oh god, Ace! Yes!” She hollers, her orgasm flooding her as she grasps his back, bringing her other above her onto the bedsheets, twisting them in her hand.

He follows with a groan as he feels her contracting around his member, her body writhing against him, the passion on her face as she rides through her orgasm, causing him to spill completely into her.

He continues to push within her until he feels the clenching within her subside, her breathing evening out, whilst his own release empties completely. He pulls out, falling onto her chest, his lips grazing her jaw as he buries into her neck, whilst he attempts to catch his breath. Her hand lets go of the bedsheet, bringing it to the back of his neck to caress there as his head rises and falls against her still slightly heaving chest, as her body continues to buzz.

“Fuck, that was good,” he mumbles, placing lazy kisses at her jaw, as she laughs through her uneven breath.

“Yeah,” she breathes, her other hand running across his shoulders, as his skims her thigh.

“Miss me then?” He asks, lifting his head to look at her dishevelled with a lopsided grin, whilst her stomach flips at how adorable he looks.

She pulls him up to her lips, kissing him lovingly, as he responds affectionately.

“More than you know,” she whispers against his lips, smiling and pecking repeatedly.

He hums, lying back down against her collar bone as she embraces him closely.

“Nothing here has changed. The huge lion is still down there,” he comments, rubbing his hand against her side now.

“Mmm, yeah. This room is much nicer though. The view from the window is more beautiful,” she concludes, closing her eyes, enjoying the feeling of him around her, his scent, the soft skin of his back.

He sits up and looks at her, as she opens her eyes, lifting her head at him.

“I can’t say I seen any of it,” he laughs, as she does also, before kissing her collar bone, then looking around the room behind her.

“Plenty of time for that,” she smiles, watching as he takes the room in.

“Looks pretty decent from this angle,” he decides, propping himself up on elbows under her arms as she caresses her hands across his biceps. “Mmm... pretty nice.”

She laughs lightly. _They are in one of the most ostentatious hotel rooms, in one of the most extravagant hotels, in one of the most cultured cities in the world and his conclusion is… pretty decent. He makes her laugh._

“What’re you laughing at?” He asks smiling at her.

“Nothing,” she smiles, leaning up to peck his lips, which he quickly deepens into a leisurely kiss, as she sighs happily into it, lying back on the bed, taking him with her. He pulls back, smiling.

“All right. I had better at least get my suitcase in here. I think it’s still by the door,” he says, leaning up to climb off of her and off the bed, walking casually into the living area, naked as the day he was born. She laughs, leaning up on her elbows to watch his naturalness, shaking her head, smiling.

“Wow! It really is nice here!” She hears him shout from the other room, as she sits up, closing over her dressing gown and tying it. She stands up from the bed, collecting his clothing from the floor and folding it over, placing it on the bed.

She watches as he walks into the bedroom with his suitcase, hat, and coat, placing them on the bed, then opening his suitcase clasps.

“I want to get a shower. The journey here was long and I was stifling in that plane,” he comments, standing nonchalantly there nude as he pulls out various pieces of clothing.

“Ace,” she starts, her hands on her hips, “for god’s sake. The windows are wide open! Take your dressing gown and get into the shower and I will put all that away,” she says taking the clothing out of his hands as he stands looking at her confused. She grabs his dressing gown passing it to him and pushing him away towards the bathroom.

However, he stands rigid against her pushes, grasping her around the waist, pressing her chest into his, kissing her as she laughs, gripping his shoulder.

“Why don’t you join me?” He mumbles against her lips.

“You’re incorrigible,” she responds, smiling into his pecking of her lips.

“But you love it,” he retorts, running his hand down to her behind, kneading her flesh there.

She hums, as he pulls her closer into him with his other hand, kissing her deeply. When he pulls back, he pulls the tie of her dressing gown, allowing it to fall open again. He takes her hand, pulling her towards the bathroom, his head beckoning her, as she smiles squeezing his hand and following his lead.

\---

She stands by the window in the bedroom, looking out onto the street as she puts on her earrings. _It was still relatively light outside; the terrace would be lovely at this time of night. The air seemed cooler now also. Hopefully Claire would be better now that she had had some time to lie down. She really should have herself, but Ace’s arrival brought other idea apparently. She can feel herself grinning recalling his light kisses, his attentive washing of her in the shower, whilst she admonished him not to get her hair wet. God knows how long they had been in there by the time their caresses had built up their arousal again. He had been so passionate, taking her up against the shower wall and taking care of her with his expert fingers. She was delightedly shocked when he had pressed her up against the sink when they had left the shower, filling her from behind. The way he was able to hit that spot inside her so expertly, allowing her to watch their reactions in the mirror before them, their eyes able to make contact so beautifully, as he ploughed into her, touching her all over to bring her maximum pleasure. Her body was shivering at just the memory._

_Thankfully after that he had allowed her to finally start getting ready. They still hadn’t even told Claire about his arrival. She would be thrilled he was here. Claire and Ace had both developed such a bond as well since they had reconciliated. He had really made an effort with Claire. She could tell he had really struggled with his guilt over Claire at the beginning. The poor girl had been so reticent with him at first, after years of putting up with them. Every time he attempted any affection or compliment, when he saw her shock or awkwardness in her reaction to it, Avis could see his pang of guilt and anger at himself washing over him. He felt a little better when he found out Claire had been the same with her at the beginning and had quickly become more open to it. Claire really was just a little girl who wanted to be loved; and since they had both made an effort with her and since her relationship with Jack, she had really seen Claire blossom into a really loving and caring young woman. He had also started to make a real effort with Jack since he and Claire became serious. She was shocked at how he had really felt much better about him, considering their past. Most of the time she forgets herself that she had a dalliance with the poor guy. It felt like a lifetime ago and he seemed like such a different person now. She supposes she’s also a completely different person now. She really was thankful to Jack. He had been the one to make her face why she was doing what she had been. Ernie had stopped bringing that up a year into the dalliances at her request and the others never even thought to ask. She wonders if she never had met Jack, if she would have ever reconciled with Ace. He had really catalysed her to confront that she really did still love Ace and her inherent sadness._

_Ernie had been a harder person for Ace to warm too. It was understandable. He had spent so many years hating him, and that didn’t just go away overnight. He had several situations where the jealously took over him when Ernie was around that she had to diffuse. However, the closer Ernie got to Ellen and the more solid and trusting she and Ace had become, it had gotten much easier. Even when they had gone to Hawaii, Ace and Ernie actually had started getting on very well, much to the shock of her and Ellen. She was proud of him for overcoming that. It wasn’t easy to overcome something like that so easily. That being said, whilst he was better with Jack and Ernie, there was a good few times his jealousy had been shown with other men. A guy giving the wrong look, a young actor speaking to her a little too flirtatiously, someone trying to dance with her or offering her a drink at an event. She has to admit she enjoyed it a little. But only because he didn’t do anything too severe about it. Luckily, he was able to control his jealously, not trying to beat anyone up, and only got a little territorial when they were clearly going out of bounds; by putting his arm around her waist, giving her a kiss, or stealing her for a dance before they could attempt to. She would shut the guys down before it got anywhere anyway but the feeling that he wanted her so much that he wanted to protect her from someone else getting her was flattering. She had always wanted him to be mad for her, and luckily, he was without being overbearing. And she had to admit also, she had been the same. There had been a few girls who would stroke his lapel at the bar, be flirtatious thinking it would get them a contract at the studio or give him a wink to try and turn his eye. She was lucky that they were on the same page as he would shut it down and be open and honest with her when it happened. But there were a few times where she had done the same, by making her mark on him when she seen the girls attempting their bullshit. They were really growing together; their love, affection and trust reaching levels she never would have believed before their reconciliation._

She feels his arms wrap around her from behind as she looks out onto the street below. She grins, resting her hands on his as they settle clasped on her stomach.

“It’s nearly seven,” he reminds her, moving to kiss her neck.

_Just like she imagined. This is where they belonged. Right here, looking onto a beautiful cultural paradise, with him wrapped around her. If she could choose any moment in her life to have forever, it would be this right here._

“I know. I’m ready,” she says, squeezing his hands tighter, lolling her head to the side, closing her eyes to allow him more room to explore, the emotion in her growing at the perfection of this moment.

After a few minutes she taps his hand, causing him to let go as she turns around, smiling at him.

“Beautiful, as always,” he says looking down at her stunning purple dress, holding his hands out appraisingly.

“You’re not so bad yourself. Pretty dashing actually,” she smiles, swiping at his shoulder and leaning up to peck his lips lightly.

They hear a loud knock in the door, interrupting them.

“Coming!” She shouts, smiling up at him.

\---

Claire had been delighted to see Ace; she had almost leaped into his arms in surprised whilst Jack shook his hand enthusiastically.

They had enjoyed a delicious meal on the terrace whilst Claire recounted the Palazzo Barberini and discussed all of the places she wanted to go in the next few days. Ace had discussed the deal in full with Hitchcock, making fun of the English lawyers representing him. Avis couldn’t resist the opportunity to remind him of his choices of previous lawyers hadn’t been exactly stellar.

The Italian cuisine had been delicious and the company even better. Their dinner had been full of laughter, delightful conversation, and always light teasing – what was now considered a standard dinner with her family.

After dinner, Claire had opted to go back upstairs with Jack, citing that she wished to get some rest so that she was fully charged to tackle the Vatican City tomorrow. Avis and Ace had opted to stay put for another drink; she successfully tipsy now as she sipped her wine whilst he enjoyed a second scotch.

**She was exceptionally flirtatious tonight, consistently touching his forearm, stroking her foot against his under the table. She looked so carefree and happy. He was feeling quite reflective; glad to see her contentment and infectious excitability. He can’t believe how far they had come. He too felt great fulfilment and gratification for how his life had turned out. How he had thought he was happy before he will never know.**

When she finishes her drink, he interrupts her before she attempts to order another, racking up the bill even higher on their hotel tab.

“How would you feel about going for a walk? It’s beautiful outside and I can’t wait to get a small glimpse of the city before tomorrow.”

She smiles greatly, “yeah, that would be nice.”

_How romantic. An evening stroll in Rome. The city of love._

**Good, he had spoken to the guy at the reception earlier and had been directed to exactly where he had wanted to go.**

He follows her out of the terrace, through the booming restaurant and out of the front doors of the hotel to Via del Corso.

She is slightly disoriented when she gets outside, looking in all directions for a possible route. He looks down to see her biting the inside of her cheek, trying to make a decision. **He had better step in**. **Apparently they just had to follow this street in a straight line and it took them straight there.**

“How about we go to the left? Take a stroll down Via del Corso,” he suggests, offering her his arm, smiling. She looks up to him grinning, laughing lightly as she takes his arm, hugging in close as they begin their stroll.

They walk continuously for perhaps twenty minutes, talking leisurely as they point out the architecture around them, discussing how romantic everything is. The air is cooler and the city becoming darker as they discuss how they could happily live here, how they could easily buy a vacation home here and visit regularly.

He can see their destination ahead. He has a hard time keeping her distracted by pointing out the various architectural differences, pointing to the Piazza’s and the large churches on their way. Luckily her slight inebriation was helping the concealment.

Eventually, he can’t hide the huge structure anymore.

He stops suddenly, as she confusedly stops with him, looking up to him for an explanation. He smiles at her, moving his offered arm away, taking her arm to shift her in front of him. She follows his guide, standing facing forward, her back against his chest, as he brings his chin down to rest on her shoulder, his lips by her ear, his hands on her hips.

“Look up. Straight ahead,” he whispers.

She looks up, straining her eyes a little to look ahead. _This would be easier if she weren’t a little short sighted and tipsy._

Finally, she makes out the huge white marble structure in the distance.

“No,” she breathes, turning her head to look at him shocked.

“You remember?” He smiles, kissing her cheek and looking back to the monument as she does too.

“Yeah. How could I forget?”

“Well, come on then. Let’s go see it,” he says, grasping her hand and walking with her.

They walk less leisurely down the small remainder of street so that they are on the edge of the huge Piazza Venezia.

_He had gotten so much better at walking at her pace, instead of ahead of her. There had been a few times in the past she had had to give him a scolding to remind him, but his improvement had been noticed._

She just stands there in awe, holding his hand as she looks at the huge building, lit up by the surrounding lights, Italian flags flying within it, perfectly silhouetted in the darkness that the night had brought.

“You know…” he starts, pointing to a building over to his right, “that little balcony up there is where Mussolini gave all of his biggest speeches through the war. Everyone used to gather here to listen to his declarations. It’s where he declared the Italian Empire in 1936 and announced his declaration of war on Britain and France in 1940 to thousands of cheering spectators. His office was in there somewhere.”

She looks up to him, watching as he gazes at the building as if Mussolini himself were going to appear at any minute. _If she were honest, she really didn’t care about that kind of history, but she is excited for him and how excited he is to view it. He knew everything about military history from the Second World War, the Great War, the American Civil war, the English fighting the Scottish in the Scots war for Independence, and even a little about the Vikings. Most recently, his new topic of conversation was the ongoing war in Korea. He was very passionate about that. No one would think he was a complete military history buff, but people didn’t know that Ace Amberg had several layers which most had not uncovered. His knowledge on military history was one of them._

“Do you want to get a closer look whilst we walk over to the monument?” She asks kindly.

“Yeah,” he says excitedly, grinning, as he pulls on her hands, crossing the road over to the building with the balcony, looking left and right for traffic and leading her over safely, as she followed giggling.

They stand just off to the side under the balcony, looking up, a few people passing by them and pointing up also.

“Isn’t it just amazing being so close to history?” He says peering up, still gripping her hand.

“Yeah, this city is just full of it,” she comments, glancing up.

Eventually she starts looking around her, there were a few people on the street still, but she mainly stares at the huge monument. _She doesn’t think she will ever tire of seeing it._

He looks down seeing her staring off at the monument with a huge smile on her face.

“Come on,” he says pulling her hand, “let’s get a closer look.”

She smiles, following his lead again as they walk closer to the building, crossing the road to finally stand in front of it.

_It was magnificent. Absolutely huge. White marble, with all the pillars standing at its rear. All of the statues and carvings into the marble. It was just extraordinary._

“I wish I knew what it was. I only seen it from the car the last time,” she comments.

“Well I asked the guy at the front desk. He said it’s a monument to Victor Emmanuel II. Apparently, Italians see him as the father of the Fatherland? But it’s supposed to be dedicated to the Italian nation and its people. I think that’s why Mussolini had his office and speeches there next to this big extravagant symbol of their nationalism. It makes it a lot easier to sell nationalism, fascism, and eugenics when this beautiful monument is here reminding you of the pride of your country. But apparently inside it’s just a museum of all the war artefacts from the unification of Italy,” he recites plainly, looking up to the monument and taking it in.

“Oh, that sounds something you would like. How did you even remember all of that?” She laughs looking around to him.

“I don’t know. He told me loads of stuff about it. Apparently when Eva Perón did her Rainbow Tour, she came here to lay down flowers as a tribute to something. But it was a big spectacle with a huge crowd and loads of photographers because so many people adored her. The guy behind the desk came to see her,” he comments.

“Oh, that’s so interesting.” She looks from side to side, seeing the huge black gates blocking the entrance to the monument, watching as a few other tourists taking in the monument also considering the huge gates, whilst an angry looking guard stands stoically with a large gun. “I wish we could go inside.”

“We can come back,” he says looking down at her. “I wouldn’t mind having a look inside.”

“Same. I just want to see what it’s like inside. If it’s like a palace. When I was a kid, I was so interested in the Romanovs and the Alexander Palace in St Petersburg. And I always imagined what it would be like to go inside it. Then when everything happened with the abdication and then the Nazi occupation of it, so I didn’t think I would ever be able to see it. Then when we came here the last time, and we drove by it on the way to the hotel, I think my nose literally pressed up against the window at how stunning it was. I thought it was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen in my life and to be honest I think it still is. I just want to go inside it to see if it is as beautiful,” she says squeezing his hand.

“You just want to imagine for a moment you live in it?” He laughs, letting go of her hand and bringing his arm around her shoulder.

“Yeah,” she says looking up at him, smiling, bringing her hand around his back, stroking it lightly.

He leans down, squeezing her shoulder tighter, kissing her soundly. She pulls back smiling, looking into his eyes as they gleam.

“Thank you for bringing me here. It was a beautiful surprise,” she whispers an inch from his lips.

“We will come back tomorrow if we have time after the Vatican. If not, we will come the next day and can spend as much time as you like here,” he says brushing his nose against hers as she reaches up for another kiss, grasping at the back of his jacket, desperately losing herself in the passion of the kiss.

“Mi scusi,” they both hear a man’s voice behind them, interrupting them.

They break away, turning around to look at who had approached them, seeing an older man, smiling brightly, holding several red roses in one arm, a single one in his hand outreached to them.

“una rosa per la bella signora?” He asks, gesturing the single rose out to Ace, pointing it to Avis and smiling brighter.

Avis laughs as she looks at Ace’s confused face.

“He wants to know if you want to buy me a rose,” she laughs, embarrassed, as she brings her hand up to rub her nose, as she watches for his reaction.

“Oh! Sure!” He says putting his hands in pockets and pulling out a wad of Italian money.

“Uhm…” he says confusedly trying to understand the money, taking four notes with a 1000 on it and handing it to the guy. **What was with this Italian money?**

“Is that okey?” He asks the man awkwardly, as the man grins excitedly.

“Sì, sì, sì,” he says taking the notes and passing him the rose quickly, before shuffling rapidly away, as she stands laughing at him.

He turns back towards her, holding the single rose, confused.

“Why do I feel like I’ve just been duped?”

“Because for a single rose you probably were. Where did you get the lira anyway?” she laughs.

“The guy at the reception. How much did I just spend?”

“Around $8,” she continues to laugh as he stands confused, rolling the rose between his fingers.

“Well, please enjoy the most expensive single rose that has ever existed,” he laughs, presenting it to her.

“Thank you, darling,” she says taking the rose and pecking his lips smiling.

He wraps his arm around her waist, pulling her in tighter, groaning.

“You are most welcome,” he smiles, pulling her into a deeper kiss as she moans into his mouth, their love bursting, their passion igniting.

He pulls back slightly, his forehead pressed to hers, enjoying the beauty of the moment, of just being together, like this, in this stunning city.

“I am so happy,” she smiles widely, sighing deeply. 

“I love you, Avis Amberg, and I can’t wait to spend the rest of my life with you,” he declares sincerely.

“And I love you, Ace Amberg, and I wouldn’t have it any other way,” she smiles before pulling him in for a passionate kiss as the flurry of this beautiful city continues around them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, that's it! A happy little ending. 
> 
> If the writers of Hollywood can rewrite history then so can I! 
> 
> Just a few notes:
> 
> 1\. Thank you so much again for every single comment, kudos, and message I have received. It has been so overwhelming how kind you have all been. I appreciate it so vastly, you all have no idea. Catch me on Tumblr @lucylovesmemore! 
> 
> 2\. I love Rome, being a little half Italian myself, having visited it myself a couple of times. But, this exact thing happened to me when I first went to Rome when I was 17. I was on a tour bus and when the Victor Emmanuel II Monument came into view I thought I was going to cry because it was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen. We had been going to the Trevi fountain but I was so awestruck, that I dragged my elderly aunt on a 30 minute walk just so I could see inside it. It was the most wasted experience for her since it was a boring war museum that only had plaques in Italian. However, I wandered around just imaging what it would be like as a palace. It is one of my most fond memories and I imagine that's exactly what happens the next day with these two. Where he walks around interestedly looking at all the war memorabilia, whilst Avis simply looks at the possibilities. But I highly recommend looking it up or seeing it if you are there because it's magnificent. 
> 
> 3\. I couldn't resist one more Patti reference! And since I know Eva Perón visited, I did a little investigating. And who would know, I found a video on YouTube where she visited the very monument I already was dedicated to including in our little Roman holiday. It was fate! If you want to see it, have a look here >>> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7sFnI7dX4KY
> 
> 4\. Everything in this fic is as accurate as it could be. The money, the history, the other actors etc. I absolutely loved the researching aspect of this since I absolutely adore history. 
> 
> 5\. I've had a few people ask me if I'm going to continue. It's likely I will, though I have nothing resolute in mind. I have absolutely loved finding such a past time and again, thank you so much for your comments. You are all a delight! 
> 
> Thank you all so much again!


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